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FOR 


ABOLISHING WAR 

AND ALL 

MILITARY AND NAVAL ESTABLISHMENTS, 

AND ESTABLISHING 

IPiA©[£ M ALL MATO0IMS, 


E Y 

GEOKGE 'YT AC ONER. 




PITTSBURGH: 


PRINTED BY WILLIAM ALLiNDEE, 

1 845 . 




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PREFACE. 


Though it is more than twenty years since my mind was first 
drawn to consider the evils of war and the advantages of peace; yet 
it is only within the last four years that I have given the subject that 
attention which it merits. About the beginning of the time last refer¬ 
red to, I was moved by various circumstances, which it is needless to 
mention, to reflect on this momentous subject. In the progress of in¬ 
quiry it became clear to my mind, that if ever a general, permanent 
peace shall be established in our world, it can only be done by the re¬ 
moval of those causes that are more immediately productive of wars 
and bloodshed. These causes I endeavored to trace out, in order to 
see what would be necessary to be removed from the body politic, that 
its diseases might be healed. 

The first cause that presented itself, namely, the depravity of hu¬ 
man nature,—which indeed is the fountain whence all the others flow, 
—I clearly saw could not be removed, but by the regenerating and 
sanctifying influence of the Spirit of God. But as this is not the work 
of man, but of the Holy Spirit, to which each individual yields or 
which he resists, it is clear, that this first cause, this primary source 
of evil, is not under the control of any society of men, and hence can 
not be removed by human agency. 

But there are some causes of war, which are secondary, and which 
flow from the first, (namely, human depravity,) that are more imme¬ 
diately productive of contention, of international and civil wars. The 
first of these is the lamentable division of the human family. Did the 
whole human family form but one confederative civil body, there 
could be no national war, though there might be that species called 


PREFACE* 


iv 

civil war. This being the case, I have insisted on a Confederalive 
Union of the whole world, and shown the practicability of the scheme* 
as well as the scriptural predictions of such a state of general union. 

The second cause of war is the ambition of the rulers of the different 
nations of the world, and that not only of despots and monarchs, but 
also of republican magistrates. As the former carry on wars for the 
purpose of acquiring more territory, or to defend what they already pos¬ 
sess, it is proposed that the community of the world should deal plain¬ 
ly with such characters, by compelling them to resign their usurped 
authority into the hands of God and the people, to whom it rightfully 
belongs. And as republican magistrates can, and often have stirred up 
civil wars, for the purpose of increasing their authority and influence in 
the community and country where they bear rule, to the injury of the" 
people and the state, it is proposed, that all magistrates above the local 
rank, such as township officers, should be chosen by lot, from among 
those who had served their fellow citizens as local officers, and not by 
popular election as is the practice now in our country. This mode is 
defended by arguments drawn from reason, and history both profane 
and sacred. I argue against Monarchy, Aristocracy, Republicanism 
and Democracy, and plead for a scriptural form of Civil Government, 
that may properly be called a Democratic Theocracy. Nonsense! some 
will perhaps say, and—what next 1 

The next thing that cjaims our attention is, the question of real pro¬ 
perty. It is well known, that the unequal distribution of landed pro¬ 
perty is a source of much irritation and contention between the rich 
and the poor, and is hence a source of civil war. In order to remove 
the evils flowing from this source, a remedy is proposed in the form of 
of an article of a-constitution of civil government. But before I proceed 
farther, ,(in this perhaps already too lengthy preface,) I must state that 
I choose the form of a supposed constitution, consisting of ten different 


PREFACE. 


V 


articles, on eachof which a short comment is written, for the purpose of 
explaining my views. The tenth or last article is on the subject of real 
property, and is contained in the following words:—“ Article 10. All 
real estate, whenever it, in the course of natural events, is to pass into othef 
hands, shall be sold by public vendue to the highest bidder. But only 
such as are not possessors of real estate shall have a right to purchase 
the same.” I believe that such a regulation as the above, in relation 
to real estate, would, in a short time, work a wonderful change in the 
world. The rich generally despise the laboring poor, and the poor hate 
and envy the rich ; and a general out-break or disturbance will sooner 
or later take place, unless some sure prospect of an alteration in the 
order of things, in this respect, shall be brought about. Wealth and 
poverty are antagonistical principles, and those who enjoy the former 
as well as those who suffer the latter, cannot loug live together in peace, 
unless some concessions are made by the rich to the poor, or the poor 
be held in brutish ignorance, which is impossible. Hence, in order to 
maintain domestic peace and keep off the calamities of civil war, some¬ 
thing must be done ; for on*, the side of the poor is physical strength, 
and they will use it against the rich, if oppression should continue to 
increase as it has heretofore done. 

I have endeavored to maintain the several positions,—First, That* 
mankind, as rational creatures, must be the subjects of civil govern¬ 
mentSecondly, That all the forms of civil government, (wiih the 
exception of the Jewish,) both ancient and modern, have been far from 
attaining the object which all governments profess to have in view; but 
have all, in a great measure failed in accomplishing this end;—Third¬ 
ly, I have endeavored to show the causes of their failures;—Andv 
Lastly, I have pointed out some things that I consider as an adequate- 
remedy for all the evils growing out of bad government, by which man¬ 
kind have been afflicted for thousands of years.. Wars have raged*, 


VI 


PREFACE. 


from time to time, and desolated the fairest portions of our world, and 
war will rage, again and again, if the causes of war are not removed. 
It is time that the professed followers of Christ, the Prince of Peace, 
were up and a doing, in order to bring about, by the blessing of God, 
that time when nation shall not lift up sword against nation any more, 
but when they shall beat their swords into ploughshares and their 
spears into pruning-hooks. 

In presenting my thoughts in print on this great subject to the public, 
I have no other desire than that of serving my generation, by endeavor¬ 
ing to promote the glory of God and the happiness of my fellow-men. 
If, by my imperfect endeavors, I shall even in the least degree, be in¬ 
strumental in diminishing human wo, and adding to the real happiness 
of the human family, I shall abundantly rejoice as not having lived altoj- 
gether in vain. 

The composition and arrangement of this essay will perhaps be con¬ 
sidered as very faulty; but, since I am not possessed of the natural 
abilities, necessary learning, or time, to devote for the mere courtly 
dressing of my language, I do not feel over-anxious on this head. If the 
subject-matter is only intelligibly presented to the reader, it seems to me 
to be all that is necessary. 

Much more might have been said on each topic, but the limits to 
which I was restricted, forbadedt. Enough is said to awaken reflection 
and excite discussion among the thinking part of the community, to 
whom it is respectfully dedicated. My prayer to Almighty God is, 
that He, in his good providence, may hasten the time, when the king¬ 
dom of his dear Son shall be set up, not only in the hearts of all people, 
but also in the civil governments of the whole world. 

Madisox, Westmoreland Coun- ? GEORGE W AGONER. 

ty, Pa., May , 1845 . $ 



A PLAN 


FOR 

ABOMOEEra© WM. 


All intelligent creatures are, and must be, the subjects of govern¬ 
ment. • As moral agents, it can not be otherwise. Intelligence and a 
knowledge of the moral law are inseparably connected. Every ra¬ 
tional being of whatever order in the universe, knows what is right and 
what is wrong. The first principles of the moral law are the same 
among the inhabitants of both heaven and earth ; yea, and even among 
the fallen angels. Even the depravity of human beings does in no¬ 
wise destroy their knowledge of right and wrong, so long as they are 
capable of reflecting on the nature and tendencies of their actions, as 
these actions affect their relation to their Maker, or to their fellow be¬ 
ing. Thou shalt love God, thy Creator and Preserver, supremely, and 
thy neighbor as thyself,—are the fundamental laws engraven on the 
hearts of.all intelligent creatures. 

It is true, there are both men and angels, who are violators of the mo¬ 
ral law, yet still the knowledge of the same is not lost, nor is it possible 
that they can lose the knowledge of it, and at the same time be rational 
and accountable beings, who shall by their Creator be brought into judg¬ 
ment for actions which they, on account of their depravity, do not know 
to be accordant or opposed to the law of God. No, for moral depravity 
consists in the violation of known la w. That depraved beings cannot re¬ 
store themselves to the favor of God, by changing their depraved nature 
from a state of sin to a state of holiness, I readily admit. But as these 


8 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


are things foreign to my design, I shall say nothing more of them at this- 
time. 

As rational beings cannot obliterate the moral law stamped on their 
reason, it follows of course, that they are the subjects of some kind,, 
of government, by which to regulate their conduct towards one another, 
and to insure to them the possession of their inalienable rights. This 
government is among holy angels, no doubt, so formed, that all are 
perfectly satisfied with it, and is perhaps framed by God himself. 
Whether the form is republican, or whether God has appointed differ¬ 
ent orders among them, with princes at the head of these orders, we 
cannot know in our present state. And it is not necessary for our- 
well-being that we should know, since, by reason of our depravity, we 
would neither approve of nor imitate the plan by which holy beings- 
are governed. Naturally we are prone to despise all government and 
all order. Man, in his fallen state, will not even acknowledge that 
he owes allegiance to God, his great Benefactor, from whom all he 
possesses or enjoys is derived. Why should he willingly submit to be 
governed by his equals, or adopt and imitate the form and government 
. of heaven? The various forms of government, from the earliest ages 
of the human race, which have preserved, in some measure order 
among men, have been more the creatures of necessity, than of the 
free choice of those who submitted to and lived under them. 

When man fell from a state of moral rectitude, he rebelled by his 
transgression against the King of heaven ; and in consequence of that 
one act of disobedience by which he despised his Maker, he has become 
corrupt. An irresistible propensity to repeat this act of rebellion, in 
violating the law of God in some way or other, seems now an insepa¬ 
rable attribute of human nature. Man not only hates God hut also 
his neighbor. He not only robs God of his own, but he more espe¬ 
cially oppresses and plunders his neighbor. It is now necessity that 
makes him willing to submit to the restraints of civil government and 
not free choice. Could depraved human beings secure to themselves 
the undisturbed enjoyment of their rights without the protection of go¬ 
vernment, they would in no wise submit to any thing like human re- 
•o straint. But as each individual feels that he is not safe against the 
attacks of his fellow men on his life, liberty and property, he for his- 


A PLAN FOE, ABOLISHING WAR. 


9 


own sake submits to the same restraint which is imposed on his neigh¬ 
bor. In fact, the mutual agreement and understanding of the con¬ 
tracting parties is this: “ We are all robbers by nature. We will 

injure, plunder and destroy one another, unless we agree to adopt some 
means of restraint. We had better agree to obey some one or more 
of ourselves, who shall be authorized to collect a posse from among us, 
on any necessary occasion, to forcibly seize and punish any one or 
more of our number, who shall be found transgressing our civil regu¬ 
lations; and also, by the same means, to protect us against those 
neighboring nations of banditti who surround us.” For it has always** 
been the case with states and nations, that they have been ready at any 
time to act the robber and assassin towards one another, when it has 
appeared probable that an expedition would be successful, as is abun¬ 
dantly proved by both' ancient and modern history. This is the true 
principle and theory of the various human governments—(I say hu¬ 
man, for I wish to exempt that of the Jewish nation, so long as they 
strictly kept the law r of Moses, and regulated the administration of their 
affairs agreeably to the will of God.) 

These are heavy charges against the existing governments of the 
world, while at the same time w r e are taught that civil government is * 
the ordinance of God, and that Christians should acknowledge, honor 
and obey it. We are ready to admit, that government is a divine or¬ 
dinance; so also is tthe ministry of the gospel. At the same time, it 
must be acknowledged, that many of those who minister in word and 
doctrine are enemies of God and the prosperity of true godliness. If, 
then, it is possible for enemies of God to be ministers of the Christian 
religion, why should it be impossible for magistrates to administer civil 
government, w hile they are actuated by no higher motives than those 
which have their origin in mere ambition and self-interest? 

Self-aggrandizement is the moving spring of most of the aspirants ton 
office, and self-interest is the moving principle of those who have to 
submit to the restraints of civil government. Could the governed pro¬ 
tect themselves in the possession of their rights, they would not surren¬ 
der any of those rights to government which are now exercised by it. 

This is, indeed, a sad picture of human nature, but it is a true one. 

1 am willing to confess and feel pleasure in doing so, that there have 


10 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


been always individuals, both among governors and those who are 
governed, who have been actuated by a very different principle from 
the generality of mankind—persons who have obeyed the law from 
free choice, because it is good and not because it merely secured to 
them the enjoyment of their rights. Persons acting in this manner 
are under the influence of grace. God has from the beginning 
sent his Holy Spirit unto this fallen race of rational creatures, to im¬ 
press His law more particularly on their minds. As man is the 
object of the redeeming mercy of God, he has sent his Holy Spirit 
into this world, to convince it “ of sin, of righteousness, and of a judg¬ 
ment to come,” and there always have been and always will be those 
who will yield to his influence. Such persons will, of course, be gov¬ 
erned by motives essentially different from those who resist the Holy 
4 Spirit. If all men would yield fully to the influence of the Spirit, 
the government of nations would resemble that of the holy angels. 
Submission to government would, in that case, be voluntary, and ncr 
force of any kind would be necessary, to procure obedience. Them 
would be no need of jails and penitentiaries in which to confine and 
punish desperate villains, for the safety of the community. Nor would 
there be any need of standing armies, military and naval establish¬ 
ments, &c. Nations would not learn the art of war, as they would 
love each other as brethren and not regard each other as enemies. 
The same peace would also subsist between individuals. Lawsuits 
would not be heard of, for fraud would be unknown. Slavery and 
all kinds of oppression would be unheard of among men, or be only 
found in the records of past history. But as men are free agents, who 
may yield to or resist the influence of the Holy Spirit, we may expect 
(what is really the case) that a large number will resist this influence. 
These, of course, obey not the law of love , but reluctantly yield to 
that of force. Force only, or the fear of punishment, induces a man 
of this class to respect the law. Where force can be evaded, and the 
fear of punishment removed by some circumstance or other, as a pro¬ 
bability of concealment or the like, he will defraud, rob, defame and 
murder his fellow, even without any provocation whatever. At the 
same time, he is glad that there is a law, as he knows that if there 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


11 


were not restraints laid on his neighbor, he would be exposed to his 
attacks. 

From what has been said, it follows, of course, that the necessity 
of having a government based on force as well as on law, will always 
remain so long as there shall be unconverted sinners in the world. 

Governments which have existed heretofore and those which now * 
exist, have done much good in the world; but they have also done 
a great.deal of evil. They have protected some in their rights, but 
have robbed a large portion of their subjects of nearly all their rights, 
in order to augment the privileges of others. In fact, the slaves of all 
countries, have been robbed, not only of some but of all rights that a 
man can possess, by the laws of those states where it exists. And 
thesa monstrous defects are to be found not only in some one form of 
government now in existence but pervade them all. Despotisms, mo¬ 
narchies, aristocracies and republics, are all alike in these respects. 
At the same time, they all profess to be the guardians of the rights of 
their subjects! A strange matter, indeed ! 

It is a self-evident truth, that “ all men are born equal, and are by * 
their (Creator endowed with certain inalienable rights, among which 
are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.'’ This truth is self- 
evident, because if it were not so,—if some men were in possession 
of some rights of which others were deprived, some peculiar maik 
would be necessary, of which every one should be conscious, to dis¬ 
tinguish the two classes. But no one is conscious of any such dis¬ 
tinction : it is not to be found in the law of nature, nor has it been re¬ 
vealed. All men are by nature brethren, having all descended from 
the same primeval pair. If that first pair were by their Creator endow¬ 
ed with any rights at all, these lights must descend to all their offspring. 
Now, it is well known from the word of God, that he put all things in 
the material world accessible to man, in his possession and under his 
authority. (Gen. 1 : 28—30.) 

This world, which the family of mankind inhabits, is capable of sus¬ 
taining at least twenty-five thousand millions of inhabitants, if all 
things were distributed equally. If the right to acquire a reasonable 
competency was secured to every individual, all would have enough 
and to spare. But men are not thus protected in the acquisition of such 


12 


A PLAN FOE ABOLISHING WAR. 


a competency, as is evident from the different circumstances in which* 
• they are placed in life. Some roll in affluence and luxury, not the 
fruit of their own industry but that of others. These produce nothing 
that is necessary to sustain life; but in some instances consume 
the product of the toil of tens,—yes, in some instances, hundreds and 
thousands of others,—who are doomed to suffer want and privations of 
various kinds, in order to keep up these lazy drones. 

Now these things Were not designed to be so by the great and good 1 
Author of all things. Matters would never have come to such a state 
of things had men not violated the moral law ; had he continued to- 
love his God supremely and his neighbor as himself. Man became a 
rebel against God, and an apostate from original rectitude, and does, 
not now, in his depraved state, hesitate in the least to oppress his fel¬ 
low man, if he can do so with impunity. He is strongly tempted thus 
to plunder and rob his fellow man, on account of the labor and toil 
imposed on him in order to enable him to procure the necessaries foF 
life. For, although bodily labor was not designed to be so much a pun¬ 
ishment for his transgression as for disciplinary purposes—-for both 
his moral and physical good; yet he looks upon it as a great evil. 
Labor he hates, yet without the fruits of it he cannot subsist. He does 
not like to dig, and is also too proud to beg. Hence he resorts to 
the various methods of fraud, or the more open ones of robbery and 
murder, in order not only to supply his wants but to gratify his’lusts* 

As men would have been equal in point of natural rights had they 
never fallen, so they are still equal as related to each other. Man 
had forfeited all rights by his rebellion against his Maker. But his 
Maker has graciously provided for his restoration, and in his designs 
of mercy has again confirmed to man his rights which he had lost. 
These rights are equal, because the gift was made to our common pa¬ 
rents. They cannot be taken from any member of the human family,, 
by any individual or organized community, by whatsoever name that 
community may be known, under any pretext whatever; unless he 
forfeits them by new acts of rebellion against known laws of divine, 
authority. And deprivation of rights without such a forfeiture is real' 
robbery, whether it be the act of an individual, or of a state' under the 
color of law\. 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


13 


The object of government should be, to protect its subjects in the 
possession and enjoyment of all their rights. But all governments 
now existing, which claim to be the work of civilization, have greatly 
failed in accomplishing this object. In their constitution and laws 
they have secured more than is proper and necessary to some; and 
this is done by robbing the remainder of a part of their rights: and all 
for no other reason, but to satisfy the avarice and ambition of those 
who are able to manage affairs to suit themselves. Were the natural 
rights of all equally guarded and protected, we should have no empe¬ 
rors, kings, princes, and other inferior orders of nobles; nor should we 
see landholders who poseess perhaps five hundred times more than 
they need, while the actual cultivators of the soil are in a state of vas¬ 
salage and slavery. No, such an unreasonable state of things could 
not exist. Were nations disposed to act justly toward one another, 
there would be no wars; no blood would be shed; armies and navies 
would not be needed; and the immense expense necessary for their 
support would not impoverish and oppress the producing class of the 
community. The energies of those who compose armies and navies 
instead of being uselessly and even wickedly expended, would be di¬ 
rected to the cultivation of the arts of peace, and consequently would 
promote the general welfare of humanity. 

Since all civilized nations have failed in securing to all men equal 
rights, the-question arises, Is there no remedy for these evils, which 
have been the cause of more human misery in our world, than dis¬ 
eases and death in the natural way have ever produced? There cer¬ 
tainly is such a remedy. These evils can be remedied, if the proper 
means be applied in a proper manner. 

The proper and only remedy perhaps, for all these evils, appears to 
me to be, to devise a constitution of civil government, that will be uni¬ 
versally applicable in all countries : a constitution that will unite the 
whole world into one civil or political body, securing equal rights to 
all persons, without distinctions of rank or exclusive privileges: a con¬ 
stitution based on the word of God, as contained in the Scriptures of the 
Old and New Testaments. 

I shall lay down a form of a constitution, in order that the read¬ 
er may more clearly understand my views on this important subject. 


14 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


What is here advanced is in nowise assumed to be the best plan for se¬ 
curing the equal rights of all men. It is merely intended to draw out 
discussion. I shall lay down one article at a time and then comment 
on it; and then proceed to another in the same manner. 


FORM OF A CONSTITUTION. 

ARTICLE I. 

All Nations shall be under one Constitution. 

Some may perhaps think this is a strange and wild project. But to' 
me it has not that appearance. It appears to me to be just as easy to 
form a confederation of all the countries or states of the whole world, as 
to form such a union among only a part of the same. If from ten to 
twenty different states can be united, why not five hundred or even 
more? If it be found beneficial to a few states to be united, why 
should it not be a greater advantage if all the world were in a state of 
union ? The unions now existing have been generally formed for mu¬ 
tual protection against foreign enemies. Now it is evident, that if all 
the world were but one confederated republic, no protection against fo¬ 
reign nations would be needed, because none would be in existence. 
Of course, navies and armies would be superfluous; the expenses now 
incurred by the nations to keep up their military establishments would be 
saved; and all the suffering and misery that mankind have heretofore 
inflicted on each other would be done away, together with the different 
vices that grow out of military life. 

The greatest of all causes of war, is found in the subdivision of the 
world into sovereign states or empires. If the world had never been 
divided there never could have been a war, for the whole world would 
have had but one and the same interest, namely to promote the general 
prosperity of the whole brotherhood of mankind; but now the case is 
very different. Instead of regarding each other as common brethren, 
they view each other as rivals and even enemies. Each nation endea¬ 
vors to build itself up at the expense of the others. Jealousy and d strust 



A. PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


15 


mark their intercourse always, and has been the baneful source of mis¬ 
chief and wo to mankind in all ages. One monarch envies his neigh¬ 
bor monarch, covets his possessions, makes war on him, and by so do¬ 
ing brings misery and wo on his subjects and those of his neighbor. O, 
how many thousands of millions of innocent men have been butchered 
on account of the ambition and madness of kings and princes!—how 
many cities, villages and dwellings destroyed!—how many fleets sunk! 
—and what intolerable burdens in taxes and other, contributions laid on 
the people! Above all, how much hq,s morality and religion suffered 
on this account! 

These things would not be so, if the world were not in a state of divi- . 
sion. It is also reasonable to suppose, that if man had not fallen from 
his first estate, the entire family of mankind would have remained 
united under one government. What form the government would in 
that case have been is difficult for us to conjecture. Suffice it to say, 
that mankind in their original state would have loved each other as 
brethren ; and hence no separation of interests could have taken place. 
The divisions which now exist are contrary to sound reason , and 
hence against the law of nature. 

If an evil is to be removed, it is only necessary to remove the cause 
of it, and the evil will cease. Now, as the division of the world into 
independent states is one great cause of war, it is necessary only to 
unite the whole world into one body politic, and international wars 
will be no more. All that vast expense necessary in keeping up mili¬ 
tary and naval establishments will be avoided, and the condition of 
the world greatly ameliorated. 

The tenor of the prophetic writings is clearly such, as to encourage 
philanthropists in their work of urging the necessity of a general union 
of the whole world into one political body. In the second chapter of 
Daniel, we have an account of the dream of king Nebuchadnezzar, and 
the interpretation thereof by the prophet Daniel. A few observations 
on it must suffice. Nebuchadnezzar saw in his dream an image, the J 
head of which was of gold, the breast and arms of silver, the belly 
and thighs of brass, the legs of iron, and the feet of iron and clay. 
This image was demolished by a stone cut out of a mountain without 
hands, which grew into a mountain and filled the whole earth. In 


16 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


this dream the future history of the world was presented to the king 
of Babylon. The head of gold represented the Babylonian empire, 
the breast and arms of silver, the Persian monarchy, which succeeded 
the Babylonian empire; the belly and thighs of brass, the Grecian' 
power under Alexander the great and his successors, who subverted 
the Persian monarchy ; the legs of iron represent the power of Pagan 
Rome, which destroyed the power of the Greeks and succeeded it; and 
lastly, the feet of iron and clay represent the various monarchies of 
modern Europe, which were fprmed out of the wreck of the ancient 
Roman empire. 

The stone cut out without hands, which smote the image and destroy¬ 
ed it, and which grew into a great mountain that filled the whole earth, 
is a representation of the Gospel and its effects on the state of the 
world : symbolizing how it shall, by the blessing of God, overcome 
all things of an anjichristian nature, and eventually produce a lasting 
and permanent peace. It is destined to destroy, by the power of love 
and truth, those blood-stained monarchies that now govern the world 
with a rod of iron. “ In the days of those kings, shall the God of 
heaven, set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed, and the 
kingdom shall not be left to other people, but it shall break in pieces 
and consume all those kingdoms , and, it shall stand for ever. 

Here mark, there shall be but one kingdom and not many; an en¬ 
tire union of all the world on gospel principles,—namely, peace and 
righteousness,—and of which t he Lord Jesus Christ shall be King and 
Head for ever and ever; as will bp more clearly seen in the sequel. 

* The same matter was shown to the prophet Daniel in a vision and 
dream. See Dan. chap. 7 Pie saw in his dream, four beasts rise up 
from the sea, diverse from one another. The first represented the As¬ 
syrian empire; the second, the Persian; the third was the repre¬ 
sentative of the Greek or Macedonian monarchy; and the fourth 
beast with the ten horns represented the Roman empire, together with 
the power of Antichrist as personified by the Little Horn speaking 
great things, and which is only applicable"to the Papacy. Daniel far¬ 
ther saw that the thrones (namely, of these beasts) were cast down ; 
that the Ancient of Days (namely, the Lord God Almighty) sat in 
judgment. The next thing that he saw was, that the beast was slain, 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


17 


and his body destroyed and given to the devouring flame. From this 
it would appear, that the monarchies of Europe as they now exist, to¬ 
gether with Popery, will come to an end nearly if not at the same time. 
Not by a bloody revolution, as will more fully appear'from the book 
of Revelation, (chap. 19.) Daniel beheld farther, that the rest of the 
beasts had their dominion taken away; but their lives were prolonged 
for a season and a time. From this it would appear, that the modern 
monarchies of the East, (which may be considered as a continuation 
of the ancient monarchies of the East,) namely, the Ottoman, the mo¬ 
dern Persian, and now perhaps the more recent political re-organiza¬ 
tion of Egypt under the famous Mehemet Ali, as.an independent state, 
may out-live for a short time their more powerful neighbors of Europe. 
It is said of these beasts, that their dominion was taken from them, 
while they were alive. This is fulfilled to the very letter : nothing can 
be more plain in the fulfillment of prophecy. These monarchies, 
though in their internal structure - despotic, yet are far from being real¬ 
ly independent. They are-under the indirect control of the great pow¬ 
ers of Europe. Hepce they live, but in reality have no dominion. 
That these may outlive the monarchies of Europe is very probable, for 
it is Christian principle and scriptural intelligence (or, in other words, 
the power of the Gospel) that will eventually bring down the beast of 
Antichristian Monarchy to the dust. Now this can only be effected 
where the Gospel is known ; but the Gospel is known in Europe, and 
almost unknown in the East: hence it follows, that as we may expecf 
a gradual improvement in the civil and political affairs of the world, 
Turkey, Persia, and Modern Egypt, as well as other benighted coun¬ 
tries, will be last in the adoption of Gospel principles in civil govern¬ 
ment. 

That the principles of the Gospel of Peace will prevail over all, is 
now shown to the prophet in his vision of the one like unto the Son of 
Man, who came in the clouds of heaven to the Ancient of Days. Da¬ 
niel says of him, (verse 14,) “ And there was given him dominion and 
glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages should 
serve him : his dominion is an everlasting dominion; which shall not 
pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” 

The government of the universal kingdom of the Son of God will 
2 


18 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


be entrusted to the saints of God; they shall administer it. This is ex* 
pressly declared, (verse 18,) “But the saints of the Most High shall 
take the kingdom, and possess the kingdom for ever, even for ever and 
ever.” 

The attention of Daniel was more particularly arrested by the fourth 
beast with the ten horns ; and more especially the one horn that came 
up last, and which had eyes and a mouth that spake great things; for it 
is said, (verse 25,) “And he shall speak great words against the Most 
High, and think to change times and laws; and they shall be given into 
his hand, until a time, and times and the dividing of time.” This horn 
represents the Pope of Rome, in the exercise of his ghostly power and 
spirit of persecution, of which he is guilty. It would also appear, that 
the Pope is to continue until the beginning of the Millenium; for it is 
added, (verse 26,) “ But the judgment shall sit, and they shall take 
away his dominion, to consume and destroy it unto the end.” The 
judgment here spoken of, is not the last judgment of the dead ; but it 
is the commencement of the administration of the government of the 
Messiah by his saints, as is noticed by Daniel in the 18th verse, and 
which is confirmed in verse 27: “ And the kingdom and dominion, 
and the greatness of the kingdom under the whole heaven, shall be 
given to the people of the saints of the Most High, whose kingdom 
is an everlasting kingdom, and all dominions shall serve and obey 
him.” 

* From this whole vision of Daniel we are led to draw' the following 
inferences :—1. That all the grand political establishments, from the 
days of Daniel ,down to the commencement of the Millenium, are of a 
beastly nature ; for they are represented by figures of beastly mon¬ 
sters. That this is their true nature is abundantly verified by their 
histories. 2. That God holds them under his control, and in due time 
He will bring them to naught and destroy them ; for He sits in judg¬ 
ment upon them. 3. That God (or the Ancient of Days) has given to 
His Son the dominion of the whole world, and that Christ shall exer¬ 
cise the government of his kingdom by his saints. 4. That this king¬ 
dom shall be set up by the force of truth, and not by devastation and 
blood ; fof it is not beastly, like the former kingdoms, but is governed 
by saints, and saints will not w r ar and destroy. 5. That Popery shll 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 19 

exist till the Millenium ; for the saints of the Most High shall sit in 
judgment on it and destroy it; (probably abolishing it by an act of le¬ 
gislation.) 6. That the kingdom of Christ is but one kingdom, “ under 
the whole heaven all its numerous provinces united into one vast 
dominion, under one king—namely, Christ the Son of Man, the great 
Head over all things. 7. That this kingdom shall never end, but 
shall last for ever and ever. 

What has been noticed above, is also set forth in the book of Reve¬ 
lation. If I had not prescribed to myself brevity, I might enlarge 
somewhat on some portions of what is revealed in this book con¬ 
cerning these things. I merely refer the reader to the 19th chapter, 
from the 11th verse to the end of the 6th verse of the 20th chapter in¬ 
clusive. The beast, the kings of the earth, and their armies, are re¬ 
presented as fighting the Son of God, who is represented as riding on 
a white horse with the armies of heaven following him. Christ will 
destroy the beast, (that is, the antichristian political power as now or¬ 
ganized,) and slay the remnant (that is, the inhabitants of the world) 
with the sword of his mouth, (that is, the Gospel.) The devil is to 
be bound by an angel from heaven for a thousand years, and his influ¬ 
ence banished from the earth, and the kingdom of Christ set up in¬ 
stead of the kingdoms of this world, which shall have bec.ome the king¬ 
doms of the Lord and of his Christ. 

The angel here spoken of is undoubtedly the spirit of the reforma- * 
tion which is now active in the world. May we not say that the 
chain is fast making by which Satan is to be bound. Let us venture 
to count some of the links. Is not the general diffusion of the Scrip¬ 
tures throughout the world one great link of this chain ? Is not the 
abolition of the foreign slave-trade another ? Is not the suppression 
of intemperance another ? Will not- slavery soon be entirely banished 
from the world, and thus another link of this great chain be formed ? 
Is there not a strong tendency in the Christian church towards primi¬ 
tive congregational church-organization, by which clerical despotism 
is crumbling to the dust, the people becoming released from the usurp¬ 
ed dominion of ghostly leaders, and Satan in consequence about to be 
ejected from his lodgment in the sanctuary ?—And when this shall 
have been effected, will it not form a notable link in the chain? And 


20 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


will not the union of all the nations of the world, and the establishment 
of peace on gospel principles, form perhaps the last link in the great 
chain by which Satan will be bound ? And all this is but the results 
of the Reformation begun by the instrumentality of Luther and his co¬ 
adjutors in the sixteenth century, and which is still progressing slowly 
but with a firm step until Christ shall have subdued all opposition un¬ 
der his feet, by his-blessing on the labors of his servants. How long it 
will |)e till the commencement of that happy era is not for any man to 
say* and all those who have ventured to point to the precise time have 
widely v missed the mark; and, it is to be feared, by their miscalcula¬ 
tions and predictions, have caused many to stumble at the word of pro¬ 
phecy. One thing is sure, namely, that a universal kingdom founded 
on righteousness shall eventually be established in the world in the last 
time; but the year, and far less the day of the commencement of it is 
unknown to mortals.' 

Before I dismiss this part of my subject, I wish to make a remark or 
two in relation to the saints "who are said to have a part in the first re¬ 
surrection, and who are called the. souls of those who were beheaded 
for the witness of Jesus, and for the word of God, and who are said to 
reign with Christ a thousand years. These reigning saints appear to 
me to mean the same persons who are designated by Daniel as the 
saints to whom the kingdom under the whole heaven is to be given. 
Some may think that the martyrs will rise from the dead in a literal 
sense ; but I think this is a figurative expression, and is intended to 
convey the idea, that during the Millenium the. civil government shall 
be in the hands of men, who wall be endowed with the same love to 
Christ and his word as were the martyrs. Many in the days of Christ 
expected the literal re-appearance of the prophet Elijah, but they were 
mistaken. Elijah did not appear in his own person or literally, but 
figuratively in the person of John the Baptist. This may serve as a 
key to the mysterious and figurative resurrection of the martyrs, and 
their reign with Christ during the Millenium. Time, however, will 
explain all these things clearly. 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


21 


ARTICLE II. 

The World shall be divided into States, not exceeding in ex¬ 
tent twenty thousand square miles, nor less than ten thousand; 
except it be smaller islands in the ocean. And each state shall 
be divided into towns, not exceeding in extent one hundred 
square miles; nor shall they contain more than ten thousand 
inhabitants. 

Small states are more convenient for civil government than large * 
ones. The whole habitable world* contains about 49,300,000 square 
miles. Now if each state were to contain 10,000 square miles, it 
would give 4,930 states, a large number indeed; but there are 
large tracts of country in the frozen zones, that prohably never can 
be brought under culture, and hence the number of states would be 
reduced. But I contend that, under proper regulations, twenty thou¬ 
sand states can as easily unite for civil and political purposes, as 
twenty ; which will appear more fully when I shall have occasion to 
speak about the general congress of all the states. 

Almost all civilized states are subdivided into such portions as re¬ 
semble our counties and townships, but to divide and subdivide seems 
to me to be unnecessary and calculated to increase expense. In all 
things we ought to copy the scripture method as delineated in the civil 
constitution of the Jewish nation. The Israelites were divided into dif¬ 
ferent tribes, but not for the purpose of having an intermediate court 
of justice between the courts of cities and the supreme court of the 
whole state or nation. Nor were the princes of each tribe entrusted 
with the administration of justice: they were first appointed by God 
himself, (see Numb. chap. 1,) for the purpose of taking.the census of* 
the people. There was to be one prince from each tribe also, who 
was to assist in the division of the land of Canaan among the several 
tribes* (see Numb. 24.) These princes appear to have been appointed 
to superintend registering the different tribes and families, and to as¬ 
sign to heirs their" due portions. Now these family distinctions were 
necessary, because the tribes were to be kept separate and distinct, 


22 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


that the tribe and lineage of our Saviour Christ might be distinguished 
from the mass of the nation. For soon after this purpose was accom¬ 
plished, these family distinctions were entirely lost. Hence,*had it 
not been for this cause, no particular officers or princes of tribes would 
have been necessary. 

If a state should contain ten thousand square miles, and each town 
or township but one hundred square miles, or an area of ten miles 
square, it would give one hundred towns for the whole state ; a very 
convenient number. But as there are districts of country, where po¬ 
pulation is more dense, such as cities, ten miles square would be too 
• large for this purpose; and in such a case a division should be made. 
If such a district should not contain more than ten thousand inhabi¬ 
tants, it is probable all its public affairs could be attended to by one 
proper board of judges and other officers. 

ARTICLE III. 

The form of government shall be a Republican Theocracy, 
and shall resemble the civil constitution of the Jews: all town 
officers shall be elected by a direct vote of the people of their 
respective towns; and all state and general government officers 
shall be drawn by lot, and appointed according to law. 

On this article I shall say nothing, as the following ones will give 
a fair opportunity of explanation and discussion. 

ARTICLE IV. 

, Each town shall be governed by its own proper officers and 
judges elected by the people. Each town shall have a court of 
justice of seven members, who shall hold their office for seven 
years, and shall be elected in such manner, that one new mem¬ 
ber shall be added annually, and the oldest member in commis¬ 
sion shall retire from office. The oldest member in commission 
shall be president of the court, and also in all other official meet- 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


23 


ingvS of the judges and other officers of the town. This court 
shall try all manner of controversy between man and man; but 
an appeal may be taken to the grand council of the state. There 
shall be elected such other officers for each town as shall be ap¬ 
pointed by law, and each officer shall serve for seven years. 
These officers and the judges shall, besides their special duties, 
take charge of the poor, the public schools, the public highways, 
and the revenue of their town ; and in all deliberations on these 
matters, shall have one vote; but no measure shall be adopted 
unless three-fourths of the whole board agree to it. 

“ Judges and officers shalt thou make thee in all thy gates, which 
the Lord thy God giveth thee, throughout thy tribes, and they shall 
judge the people with just judgment.” Deut. 16 : 18. This was a 
part of the civil constitution of the Jews, the people of God. These 
judges and officers appear to have been elected by the people, and com¬ 
missioned by Moses as the chief magistrate of the nation. This is 
clearly intimated by Moses himself.” Take ye wise men and under¬ 
standing, and known among your tribes, and I will make them rulers 
over you.” Deut. 1 : 3. This w 7 as done by the advice of Jethro the 
father-in-law of Moses, shortly after they had left Egypt. The advice 
had been, that officers should be set, over thousands, hundreds, fifties, 
and tens. Four different grades. The advice was good from an un¬ 
inspired man, but there appear to have been too many grades. It did 
not meet the divine approbation altogether ; and hence the command 
recorded in Deut. 16 : 18. Each town was to make judges and offi¬ 
cers, and all matters too hard for these were to be carried to the seat 
of government, as I shall yet have occasion to show. How many 
judges or other officers were to be made in each town or gate is not 
said. It would appear that this was left to the decision of the people 
themselves. 

The definite number of seven judges is merely arbitrary. Ten or 
twelve might do just as well. But a number of men on the bench, is 
more safe than merely one. What is overlooked by one man in the 
investigation of a difficult cause will be noticed by another. Again : 
if one should be partial in judgment, another can counteract this par- 


24 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


tialily ; and hence it is safer to choose a number of men to form a 
judgment in controverted cases^ than but one. A man brought out to 
serve as a judge, gains a much more competent knowledge, by being 
employed a considerable time and associated with other men of riper 
experience, than a mere justice of the peace as we have them among 
us, or as jurors at our County courts, many of whom are extremely 
* ignorant men. Our judiciary system seems to be defective in several 
respects:—1. Comparatively. ignorant and immoral men are often 
made judges between man and man, and their single judgment is made 
to affect individuals injuriously and unjustly; whereas if a number of 
men had sat in judgment on the case, it is probable justice would have 
been done. Hence divine wisdom has instituted courts of justice re¬ 
quiring a number of judges. 2. I consider the many different courts 
of justice as expensive and contrary to scripture example. Among 
the Jews there were only two courts, namely, the town court and the 
high court of appeal. See Deut. 16 : 18 and chap. 17 : 8—12 inclu¬ 
sive. A less number than two would have been unsafe, because a 
court though composed of several members may yet err, and hence 
the propriety of a court of appeal. More than two courts would only 
increase the expense of the public, while justice would gain nothing ; 
since it may safely be inferred, that on a second hearing of a cause by 
a different court, all the truth attainable would be elicited, and conse¬ 
quently a just decision obtained. To me it appears, that in all matters 
of civil polity which are in their nature of a general application, we 
ought to take the civil constitution of the Jews for our pattern. If 
those institutions are not binding on all'other nations, they are at least 
worthy to be copied by them all, as having been originally delivered 
by God himself through his servant Moses ; and, I think, it will be 
found, after fair investigation, that no civil code ever invented by hu¬ 
man wisdom, can compare with the civil constitution of the Jews. 

I will not consume time by making further observations on the vari¬ 
ous minor particulars in this article, as any intelligent reader will easi¬ 
ly understand the import of the principles laid down. 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


25 


ARTICLE V. 

Each State shall be governed by a chief magistrate and a 
council of seventy. The members of the council shall be elect¬ 
ed by lot from among those men who have been serving in 
their own town as magistrates, and whose term of office has 
expired. The names of all those with their age, shall be return¬ 
ed to the seat of the state, government, and there retained until 
they xirrive at the age of fifty, when their names shall be strick¬ 
en from the list of candidates. And from all those names thus 
returned, shall be annually drawn by lot as'many as shall’be 
needed to make up the full number of the state council. Each 
member of the state council shall serve seven years. The 
council shall pass all laws necessary for the government of the 
state ; but no bill shall pass into a law 7 except sixty of the mem* 
bers agree to it. The state Council shall also hear and decide 
on all cases of appeal from the town courts; and their decision 
shall be final. The chief magistrate shall be drawn by lot from 
among all those who have served out their time in the state 
council; but no man’s name shall be submitted to the lot who 
is past fifty-seven years of age, nor be appointed to any other 
office either of the state or general government after that age. 
The chief magistrate shall appoint all other state officers with 
the advice and consent of the state council; but neither the 
chief magistrate nor any other state officer, shall hold his office 
longer than seven years Where now the chief magistrate is 
hereditary, it shall remain so, until in the ordinary course of 
events, the direct succession shall cease, when the lot shall be 
resorted to as directed above. 

On the first sentence of the above article, I do not think it necessary 
to say anv thing. I pass on to the manner of electing state officers. 

I have recommended the use of the lot in the choice of these, for the* 
following reasons:—1. We are not competent to elect state officers, 


26 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


because we are too ignorant to judge of the integrity and ability 
of those who offer themselves, or are offered by others as candidates 
for these high and responsible stations. If I be called on to vote for 
a man for governor of my state, I am not able to do it, unless I have 
a personal knowledge of such a candidate. If I have not a personal 
knowledge of the man who claims my suffrage, how can I know in 
voting for him whether I support an honest man or a knave 1 For 
what I hear in favor of such a man from his friends, is completely 
neutralized by the charges brought against him by his enemies. Go 
back and review the several election campaigns for governor of our 
state, and see what a picture is presented by the different parties of 
their opposite candidates, and you will be led to think that each of the 
men presented to the public as candidates, instead of being placed in 
the executive chamber of the state,, should, by right, have his lodgings 
in one of the cells of the penitentiary. What has been said of the 
election of governor in one state, holds good.in all states where the 
chief magistrate is elected by the people. Nor can it be expected to> 
be otherwise. Party leaders know that the great mass of the people 
have no personal acquaintance with their favorite candidates, and can¬ 
not possibly form a correct judgment of the merit or demerit of these 
men; and hence the candidates are praised and belied by their sup¬ 
porters and opponents in the most fulsome and scandalous manner. 
Each party is determined to have its man elected, right or wrong ; 
whether he be an honest man or a knave—whether he be capable or 
incapable. To render success sure, party leaders will traduce their 
opponents, as much as possible, in order to secure the success of their 
party. Many of those who are successful in gaining a low station in 
the government, devise all kinds of schemes to rise higher; and for, 
this purpose they concoct new measuies of state or national policy, 
and try to raise a political party, and then rally their forces to their 
new party standard. Others of the second, third and fourth rate po¬ 
liticians, eagerly watch the leading demagogues of the day, and on 
whichever side they think success most sure, under that party banner 
they marshal themselves, impatiently waiting the result of the elec¬ 
tions. These noisy* self-sufficient sovereigns continually throw sand 
into the eyes of the great mass of honest citiaens, and by their misre* 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


27 


presentations make it impossible for them to vote intelligently. Yea, 
party blindness even goes so far on some occasions, that people will 
vote against their nearest neighbors in whom they place full confidence 
in all other matters aside from politics. Why 1 Because the politi¬ 
cal leaders have succeeded in making the people believe that it is not 
men but measures for which they are contending. According to their 
sayings, it is the bank question, the tariff, the free trade, or some other 
political hobby, on which the future safety of the country depends. 
But the real secret of the whole matter is, these questions are only 
pretences of demagogues, by which they divide the community for the 
purpose of rising into office and enjoying its emoluments. If a plan 
could be devised, that would make it impossible for the ambitious to 
impose on the people, those who would be vested with authority could 
easily see what measures are best for the country, and what would 
advance the prosperity of the nation. But as the officers are elected 
by the people, and are re-eligible, they are not so careful of the inte¬ 
rest of their constituents as of their own. For example, if any one is 
elected either to the national or state legislature, or to the chief ma¬ 
gistracy of a state or of the United States, he knows that after his 
term expires he may be elected again. Now, in order to insure his 
re-election, he has to be careful not to offend his constituents (or in the 
cant of demagogues, “ the dear people”) by the support of any mea¬ 
sure that might not be popular. I think I can illustrate this in a few 
words. It is admitted by all, that every man has a natural right to 
vote for his own rulers, either directly or indirectly; but it was very 
unpopular six years ago, (and is yet perhaps,) to allow the people of 
color to exercise the elective franchise; and hence a majority in ac¬ 
cordance with the popular prejudice, amended the constitution so as 
to deprive them of this right. Again; it is well known that what is 
called the license system is productive of great evil by promoting in* 
temperance; yet notwithstanding the clear knowledge of this fact, 
Congress will not prohibit the importation of ardent spirits of various 
kinds, nor will the state legislatures abolish the license system by one 
general law, but only by townships where “the dear people” wish to 
have it so. O, shame on these servile wretches ! ! 

This is the manner in which republican governments are and always* 


23 


A PLAN FOR AEOLISHING WAR. 


have been conducted. No one acquainted with the history of the world 
can deny it. Because J thus speak of republican governments, I do 
not wish it to be understood that I am in favor of a monarchy; for I 
am as much opposed to the one as to the other. 

* The second reason why I prefer the lot in the election of the princi¬ 
pal officers is, because the Scriptures hold out the propriety of the use 
of the lot, in the election to and distribution of the higher offices. 
Saul the first king of Israel was elected by the use of the lot. 1 Sam. 
10 : 20, 21. Again ; king David distributed by lot the various offices 
of the sanctuary among the priests. 1 Chron. 24 : 5. The propriety 
of the use of the lot may be further inferred from the fact, that jurors 
are selected by lot in order to secure impartially in the administration 
of justice. Another instance of the use of the lot we meet with in the 
history of England in the reign of George III., relating to contested 
elections. I shall transcribe the whole paragraph as found in “ Gold¬ 
smith’s History of England.” 

“In the course of this year (1770) a very important act was passed for regu¬ 
lating the proceedings of the house of commons in controverted elections. These 
used formerly to be determined by the house at large, and by a majority of votes, 
so that they were considered merely as party matters, and the strongest party, 
which was always that of the ministry, was sure to carry the point without pay¬ 
ing the least regard to the merits of the question on either side. But by the bill 
which was now passed, commonly called the Granville Act, as it was drawn up 
and brought in by Mr. Granville, they were ordered, for the future, to be decided 
by a committee of thirteen members chosen by LOT\ and under the sacred obli¬ 
gation of an oath ; and since the enacting of this law, no well-grounded complaint 
has been made against the impartiality of the decisions ” 

Now if impartiality can be secured by employing the lot, in electing 
or selecting officers, why not employ the lot for superior officers ? 

• A third reason why I advocate the use of the lot in the election of 
the higher officers is, because, under the Jewish polity, they were not 
elected by the people directly but indirectly. The Israelites were to 
elect officers and judges in all their gates (or courts of judicature in 
their towns) but God reserved to himself the appointment of the higher 
officers. He appointed Moses and his successors (Joshua and the 
Judges) directly, but the members of the grand council or sanhedrim 
♦indirectly by the hand of Moses. When Moses complained that he 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


29 


was not able to bear the burden of all the people himself, he was com¬ 
manded to “ gather unto me seventy men of the elders of Israel, 
whom thou k no west to be the elders of the people and oficers over 
them: and bring them unto the tabernacle of the congregation, that 
they may stand there with thee.” Numb. 11 : 18. Here we have a 
grand principle laid down, namely, that the people had elders and offi¬ 
cers in the first place; and secondly, that none could be promoted to 
a higher grade of office unless he had first been an officer or elder of 
the people, and who had enjoyed the confidence of the people. Again; 
though the people had a right to elect their local officers, yet were they 
not entrusted with the election of general officers or officers of state, 
because of the reasons assigned for the impropriety of such a measure. 
Higher officers than mere local officers they needed; but as they were 
not capable of making a proper selection, God put it into the hands of 
his immediate ministers to make the proper selection from among those 
who had been honored by the people as men whom they personally 
knew and m whom they had confidence. The appointment was safely 
lodged in the. hands of his immediate ministers, as he could select such 
an one as was able to make proper appointments. This power of ap¬ 
pointing to places of high trust would not be safely lodged in the hands 
of those who are placed in such circumstances that they can derive be¬ 
nefit from the favors which thejr may have the power to confer: and 
hence the corruption in those governments where the giving or with¬ 
holding such favors can influence the elections. From which we draw 
the conclusion, that it is much safer to confide in the decision .of the 
lot in the election of the higher magistrates, than the caprice of chance 
in a popular election, where so many corrupt elements and influences 
are at work to produce bad consequences, and where civil wars have 
often been the result. 

It is not only national wars that we ought to guard against, but also* 
civil commotions : and these civil wars do often arise out of party ani¬ 
mosity, promoted by political aspirants and greedy office-hunters, who 
stop at nothing by which they can gain their point. If the lot were 
made use of in the election of state and general magistrates, dema¬ 
gogues would have but a small chance of accomplishing their object, 
as they would not be able to rise higher, by the voice of the people, 


30 


A FLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


than to a town office. If they rose higher than that, it would not be by* 
exciting and misleading the people, but by the decision of the lot, over 
which they could have no control. Hence those turbulent passions of 
corrupt men would be chained and curbed, so that no mischief could 
be effected by them. “ The wolf also shall dwell with the lamb, and 
the leopard shall lie down with the kid; and the calf, and the young 
lion, and the failing together; and a little child shall lead them. And 
the cow and the bear shall feed; their young ones shall lie down to¬ 
gether ; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. And the sucking 
child shall play on the hole of the asp, and the weaned child shall put 
his hand on the cockatrice’s den. They shall not hurt nor destroy in 
ail my holy mountain : for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of 
the Lord, as the whters cover the sea.” Isaiah 11 : 6—9 inclusive. 
God’s purposes, as figuratively announced in this passage, shall be 
accomplished in due time. - 

If the plan proposed w r ere adopted by any country, it would realize 
its benefits in a short time, as it is both simple and efficient. Were 
it adopted by the whole world, a few years would be sufficient to ena¬ 
ble every intelligent man to acquire a proper knowledge of govern¬ 
ment, which, under its present complicated construction is not the case. 
That men who serve in high places should be men of experience, no 
one will deny ; and that the plan proposed in the article under conside¬ 
ration would accomplish that object is apparent from the slightest in¬ 
spection. No one can be a state councillor, or other state officer, ex¬ 
cept he has been previously a magistrate in his own town for seven 
years. No one can be chief magistrate of the state, or any other state 
\ officer, (nor yet an officer of the general government according to the 
next article proposed,) unless he has had the experience of a seven 
years’ service in the state council. This appears to me a proper 
* course; but to place men in elevated stations before they have learned 
any thing by practical experience, is unsafe and absurd. 

A few remarks more on the last clause of the article under conside¬ 
ration are here necessary. It proposes, as a peace-offering to those 
immediately interested by the proposal , a continuance in power, not 
as a matter of right, but as a matter of concession. From whence 
have hereditary princes the right to lord it over their fellow men 1 Is 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


31 


it of divine appointment, or is it the gift of their fellow men? If it 
be by virtue of a divine commission granted to them, where are their 
indisputable credentials ? If they insist that they have divine authori¬ 
ty, they should be able to satisfy those whom they govern, that they 
are thus authorized to rule. If they cannot produce their commission, 
they are guilty of usurpation and tyranny. If they have no divine 
commission, they must show an indisputable title from those whom 
they govern. And if they can neither show a divine commission, nor 
one from the people over whom they bear rule, they are guilty of .ty¬ 
ranny and oppression. That monarchs have neither of the above 
commissions is a clear case; and hence are not to be recognized as 
the rightful possessors of governmental power* It is, therefore, on the 
ground of mere concession that they are permitted to retain their 
authority. It is well known that when the Israelites asked a king to 
be set over them, God regarded it as a refusal of the special govern¬ 
ment which he had set over them. He left the Israelites to their own 
folly in choosing a king, and they paid very often severely for their 
folly. In hereditary governments it happens as oflen, by the course 
of succession, that a fool or a wicked person ascends the throne, as a 
wise or righteous one. This, the history of the Israelites, as well as 
the history of other nations who were governed by monarchs, abun¬ 
dantly verifies. It is on this account that a hereditary monarchy is a 
had form of government. But the same may be said of representative 
governments or republics. Corrupt and ambitious demagogues mis¬ 
lead the mass in the matter of electing officers and magistrates, by cun¬ 
ning and artifice. Hence, neither a hereditary monarchy, nor yet a 
purely elective republic is approved by God; but a republican theo¬ 
cracy, where the people elect the local officers and magistrates, and 
where God himself appoints the higher officers. 

Some are ready to say, that they would never submit to the chance 
of the lot for those who are to govern them, because it is beneath the 
dignity of men not to govern themselves by their representatives; that 
the lot would all be chance-work and nothing sure about it. Be it so; 
but is it not so in popular elections ? How often do we hear political 
boasters brawl before a pending election, of the success of their party, 
and yet how' miserably disappointed they oflen are 1 How different is 


32 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


the result from what might have been expected, when we are told by 
either party that if their opponents prevail, the country will be ruined ? 
Now, in the affairs of the Jewish nation, did God ever impose an un¬ 
just, wicked, weak-minded man on the nation, as his special servant' 
or minister? No. never. But how was it during the days of their 
kings ? Saul, their first king, was a fickle-minded, unrighteous and 
cruel man. Even Solomon toward the close of his reign, oppressed 
some of the people. Under his son Rehoboam, their fourth king, the 
kingdom was divided on account of,his folly and oppression. Indeed, 
more than half of them were unprofitable servants to the people. In 
the kingdom of the revolted ten tribes, the government was in a still 
worse condition. In little more than two centuries, they w’ere destroy¬ 
ed or carried into captivity, on account of their wickedness fostered by 
their wicked kings: which doom also befell the nation of Judah. 

This was and is the picture of all hereditary monarchies and elective 
republics. And hence it is necessary to bring about a change in the 
form of civil government in the world. It may be said that it is easy 
to speak and write on the evils of a monarchical government in our 
own free country, but how will you get a hearing before the despots 
of Europe and elsewhere ? I confess that this is a hard matter in the 
case. But even here we need not despair. It is, in the first place, 
ne'cessary to come to a different understanding on this matter in free 
countries, and the sentiment will reach to places where no open de¬ 
claration on these principles dare be made: just in the same manner 
as was pursued by the abolitionists in the free states. They had no 
need to go into the Bastile of Southern slavery, in order to be heard 
among slaveholders; for their voice was heard to the very confines 
of the slave states, yea, to the utmost limits of the civilized world. 
The same manner of proceeding in this case will produce the same 
» effects. A strong under-current of antislavery is at work at the South, 
which, with the open antislavery sentiment of the North and the 
world, will abolish that evil in due time. In like manner, a strong 
under-current of anti-king, anti-despot sentiment is at work in king- 
ridden Europe, which, with the undisguised sentiment against the 
monarchical form of civil government in the free countries of the world, 
will at last cast down the thrones of despotism; and rational and 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WaH. 


33 


scriptural freedom will take the place of the general system of anti- 
christian tyranny under which the nations are now groaning. Reason 
cries out against the multiplied wrongs that mankind always have 
been and still are suffering; and Revelation declares that truth, right¬ 
eousness and peace shall eventually be established throughout the 
whole world. 


ARTICLE VI. 

The General Government shall be vested in a General Con¬ 
gress, composed of two members from each state. These mem¬ 
bers shall be drawn by lot from among those members of their 
state council whose term of service shall have expired. The 
members of the General Congress shall serve seven years, and 
shall have power to make all laws of a clearly general nature; 
but the concurrence of two-thirds of their whole number shall 
be necessary to enact a law. The General Congress shall have 
power to settle all disputes between the several states, if such 
should occur, which the disagreeing parties cannot settle to 
mutual satisfaction. The Chief Magistrate of the whole Union 
shall be chosen by lot from among the members of congress for 
the time being, and shall serve for seven years. He shall have 
power to appoint, with the consent of congress, all officers of the 
General Government; and each of them shall serve seven 
years. 

The idea of placing the whole world under one general government 
may appear to many altogether impracticable, and that for various 
reasons. 

1. It may be said by some, that the world is too large, and the num¬ 
ber of members of a general congress would be too large a body, to 
be able to transact legislative business. Because, if the world was 
divided into small states of not more than twenty thousand, nor less 
than ten thousand square miles, it would form a confederation of at 
least three thousand states; and hence, if each state is to send two 
3 


34 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


members to the General Congress, that body will consist of at least 
six thousand members, and this body would be too inconvenient for 
deliberation and consultation. 

That so large a body as is supposed above, is somewhat inconve¬ 
nient, is admitted. But this difficulty could be obviated by the appoint¬ 
ment of committees of a convenient number for the discussion of mat¬ 
ters, while the decision on the question might be had after a full dis¬ 
cussion of the subject by that committee, by the whole body of the 
assembly. Such a committee, selected by lot, might and could throw 
all the light on a subject that would be needed or could be obtained. 

2. It may be objected, that there would be so much business before 
the General Congress, on account of the great extent of the union, that 
one legislative body could not get through with all, and hence many 
interests would be neglected. Besides, the different interests of the 
various sections of the world would be so discordant, that no unanimfc 
ty, harmony, or agreement, could exist in such a vast body. 

This difficulty will vanish when we consider, that if a general union 
should be effected, much legislation that exists now in the various na¬ 
tions of the world would then be .dispensed with. Because the greatest 
part of legislative labor grows out of the jealousy and ill-feeling which 
the different nations of the world indulge in towards one another. One 
nation desires to obtain some advantage in trade over another nation, 
and months, yea, years are spent by the respective parties in legisla¬ 
tive labor, each nation perplexing itself greatly in endeavoring to over¬ 
reach the other, and utterly regardless, if its own object be obtained, 
of the injury or inconvenience sustained by its neighbor. This is the 
reason why nations are continually modelling and re-modelling their 
tariffs. Again, if a nation wishes to gain some advantage in territory 
over its neighbor, w r hat an immense amount of time is spent on one 
■ hand to obtain the object in view, and on the other to prevent it. In- 
. stance the plotting of our own nation to wrest the Texas coun¬ 
try either by fraud or force from Mexico, and the commencement of 
its avaricious campaign to get possession of the-Oregon Territory. If 
one nation intends to make war on another, how long, if a free coun¬ 
try, are they legislating in regard to the matter? If they wish to 
make peace how tardy is the legislative action in the case ? If some 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


35 


measure is before the legislature of a free people, how long is it before 
they come to an agreement ? How does one political party try to 
out-manage the other, (for in free countries there are always two great 
parties that divide the nation,) for the purpose of each is to build up 
itself and todestrov its opponent? Now all these things would be done 
away if a general union could be effected. The world would have 
free trade and its advantages; and hence no legislation on tariffs would 
be necessary. The world if confederated would form a political unit, 
and hence no manoeuvring, would be necessary (nor is it even now) to 
gain territory. 

Once more; if the higher grades of magistrates were selected by 
lot from the local or lower grades, party tactics could not be employ¬ 
ed to operate on the mass, because such a measure could be of no 
avail in securing votes and political success to demagogues and aspir¬ 
ants to office and power. To me it appears that comparatively little 
legislation would be necessary if the whole world were united into one 
grand confederacy. A few acts or laws relating to matters of a clear¬ 
ly general interest would suffice. For instance, a uniform currency, 
uniform weights and measures, a uniform law regulating the naviga¬ 
tion of the high seas, and a few others, would perhaps embrace all 
that might come before that body. 

3. It may be objected, that the diversity of language would be a 
barrier or an insurmountable obstacle to this union, because the mem¬ 
bers of such a General Congress, coming from all parts of the world, 
could not communicate together in a legislative capacity. 

This, it must be confessed, is a great difficulty; but even here we 
need not despair. To me it appears that the English language is des¬ 
tined to become the general medium of communication throughout the 
whole world ; and this for obvious reasons. It is now diffused over 
a larger surface of the globe than any other. There are more people 
using other languages at present than those who use the English; but 
the territory of those nations which use the English language is now 
very large, and on the increase. Beside being spoken in Great Bri¬ 
tain, the English language is the medium of communication in five 
parts out of six of North America. Colonies have introduced it on 
the West and South of Africa. In Asia the British are establishing 


36 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


their sway and with it their language. New Holland and its neigh¬ 
boring island are under the control of the British, and their language 
will become the language of the land ; hence we see that our language 
is on the ascendancy in the world. Besides, in all maritime towns of 
the civilized world, there are a great many who understand our lan¬ 
guage, and find it to be of great advantage to cultivate it. If ever a 
general union should be effected, some one of the modern languages 
must be adopted as the general medium of communication; and the 
probability, for the above and other reasons, is in favor of the English. 
Nor should it be forgotten, that English and American missionaries 
help to spread our language. 

From what has been said here and in the preceding articles, it might 
be supposed that I entertain a superstitious partiality for the number 
seven. This is by no means the case. It is true, that seven years 
are proposed as the length of the term that each and every officer shalb 
serve. But it might just as well be five, six, eight, or any other num¬ 
ber of years, for all theoretical or practical purposes, as seven. Uni¬ 
formity in such a matter appears to me desirable, and calculated to 
make my remarks to be more easily understood by the people at large. 


One thing morel wish to mention; namely, the advantages that 
would result from the order of progression in office, from the lower to 
the higher in the scale of gradation. If a man of good natural parts 
and fair character should be elected at or about the age of thirty, and 
serve seven years as a local officer before he could be elected to the 
council of state, he would gain a great fund of practical knowledge in 
public affairs, and thus become better prepared to act in a higher sphere. 
His age, by the time he has served his /erm as a local magistrate, 
would probably be about forty; and if he should be selected by the 
decision of the lot, or appointment to an executive office of the state or 
to the General Congress, he still would have gained in years and .ex¬ 
perience, qualifications that would render him both respected and use¬ 
ful. The higher magistrates and officers, though not immediately 
elected by the people, are nevertheless the officers of the people; be¬ 
cause none could be invested with any office, except he had been en¬ 
trusted with authority and office by the people of his immediate neigh¬ 
borhood, who had personal knowledge of him. As matters now are 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


37 


office-hunting is a trade, and one of the very meanest, on account of 
the intrigues of party. Many suppose they are governed by men of 
their choice, because they can vote for a man for president, member 
of congress, governor, or members of the state legislature—fancying 
that they are under the government of their own agent. What a mis¬ 
take ! If the democratic party gains the ascendancy and governs as 
it pleases, are the Whigs under the government of their own agents 
or under the government (or misrule) of their opponents? On the 
other hand, if Whigs are at the head of affairs, are Democrats then 
under the government of their own agents, or under the government 
(or misrule) of their opponents ? And when a party succeeds tp’Ww- 
er, are the people then under their own immediate agents? IJ$pnk 
not. My choice may be president or governor; or my choice ^may 
be in Congress or the state legislature; but only three or four persons 
are there in whose election I could have a choice; and yet these bo¬ 
dies are composed of several hundred, and hence I am under the rule 
or misrule of the majority of those in whose election I never had and 
never could have any choice whatever. Hence we see, that if we re¬ 
linquish the right of a direct vote on officers of a higher grade, we re¬ 
linquish nothing that is essential to our civil prosperity and happiness* 
Some safe-guards may perhaps be necessary, that those who in their 
higher sphere might oppress the people, would be prevented from do¬ 
ing so : but the consideration of this I will reserve for the ninth 
article, which treats of taxes, tariffs, excises, &c. 

ARTICLE VII. 

The Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments shall be 
acknowledged as the word of God; but no form of worship or 
creed shall be established by law. Each individual shall enjoy 
the right of worshipping God according to the dictates of his 
conscience. 

I don’t feel disposed to say much on this article. Not on account 
of a light regard to religion, but because the importance of religion is 
conceded by all those who are likely to pay any attention to this es- 


38 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


say. The only difficulty in the above requisition is, how to bring hea¬ 
then nations under the influence of Christianity. And this can be ef¬ 
fected only by Christianizing the so-called Christian church. Now, 
in order to do this effectually, it is necessary , in the first place , to in¬ 
culcate the doctrine of universal peace among all nations , that war 
the great stumbling-block in the way of Christian effort may be re¬ 
moved. It is no wonder that heathen nations reject the Gospel, when 
they see those who profess to be governed by its divine morality, en¬ 
gaged with each other in mortal combat; and not content with 
warring among themselves, spreading devastation and ruin among 
heathen nations, robbing them of one city and one province after an¬ 
other. Hence it is necessary that principles of justice be inculcated 
and established among ourselves; and then and not till then, we may 
expect that a nation will be born to God in a day. I am not aston¬ 
ished that so little progress has been made by missionaries in heathen, 
lands; but I am really surprised that they have made any at all. 

The next thing necessary to be done, in order to make the Christian 
religion appear to be what it really is before the heathen world, is, 
to put away the sectarian spirit which is now distracting the church, 
and which will always be a stumbling-block to oppose the conversion 
of the heathen. But how is this to be effected ? Answer: By removing 
the chief cause or causes of division in the church. But what are these? 

♦ The chief cause of division in the church is a hireling ministry. If it 
were not for this, Christians might be brought more easily to unite. 
But interested men, in the garb of Christian ministers, find it their 
interest to cry out, “ Here is Christ—here is the house of the Lord,” 
&c. And for thus crying and preaching, they each charge the people 
from two hundred to six thousand dollars per annum: at the same time, 
the people (their victims and dupes) are deprived of all right in the ad¬ 
ministration of their religious affairs, contrary to the apostolic practice, 
as is clearly set forth in the Acts of the Apostles. Acts 6:1—6, and 
elsewhere. In the primitive times of the church, it was only travel¬ 
ing ministers who received pecuniary aid, because they could not pro¬ 
vide for themselves, and traveled mostly in those places where Christ 
was not known. Each, or at least many of the congregations had a 
plurality of pastors and teachers, and could not possibly provide for 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


39 


them such salaries as are now provided for ministers. Ministers are 
aware, that if the primitive congregational form of church government 
with a plurality of pastors were introduced, people would not long sub¬ 
mit to be fleeced by them, but more of them would exercise the minis¬ 
terial function than could be maintained in their present style of living; 
hence they keep up ecclesiastical courts, independent of the people, in 
order to retain a distinct and superior position in society generally, 
and in the church in particular. And whenever, on the slightest pre¬ 
text, a division in sentiment occurs, they endeavor to establish a deno¬ 
minational organization, and exact pay for so doing. Now, if the con¬ 
gregational form (which is the scriptural one) of church government 
was re-established, and local ministers would conform to the primitive 
practice of laboring without charge, while those who travelled at the 
expense of others, would confine their labors to places where the Gos¬ 
pel is not known, sectarianism would in a great measure be done 
away, the way to the heathen cleared of this obstruction, and the 
Christian religion made to.appear much more commendable in their 
sight. When I speak against a hireling ministry, I do not wish to - 
be understood as saying, that there are no honest and pious men among 
them. By no means. But if many of them are honest and sincere 
in their labors as hireling ministers, they are (as I believe) misled by 
the prejudice of education strengthened by prevalent custom. It is 
high time for them to consider their situation and responsibility. I 
might enlarge on this topic, but this must suffice at present. 

ARTICLE VIII. 

No Military or Naval Establishment whatever shall be 
organized by either the general or the state governments. 
Nor shall death be inflicted on any person as a punishment for 
crime; except for murder in the scriptural sense of the term. 

Armies and navies are the offspring of the war policy of nations and# 
their rulers. The ruling maxim is, that in time of peace preparations 
must be made for war: hence those numerous and expensive establish¬ 
ments. Governments, in sustaining armies and navies as a part of the 


40 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


public service, have three objects in view. 1. To invade other coun¬ 
tries and make conquests ; which is always undertaken under pretext 
of redressing some wrong, pretended to have been inflicted by the in¬ 
vaded nation. 2. To repel invasion and oppose aggressors. 3. To 
maintain peace at home, and to be prepared to subdue insurrections. 

Now, in order to render armies and navies useless, it is only neces¬ 
sary to remove the causes of their existence. And this is simply—1. 
To form a perfect union among all nations; then no invasion can take 
place. 2. To remove the causes of discontent in the several states, 
and no more military forces will be needed to suppress insurrections 
and rebellions. 

Armies and navies are great evils in the body politic. In the first 
place, they abstract a great number of healthy and vigorous men from 
the working and producing class of community, who might be profita¬ 
bly employed in producing the necessaries and comforts of life, while 
in the army and navy they produce nothing for themselves or for 
others. Secondly, They are an immense expense to the community ; 
at least five times as large as all other expenses of government put to¬ 
gether. The following items of expenditure were incurred by the 
United States’ government, from 1789 to 1832: 

Military service and fortifications, . . . $190,538,643 

Revolutionary Pensions, .... 17,298,282 

Other Pensions, . . . . . . 6,710,307 

Naval Establishment, .... 112,703,930 

Public Debt,. 408,090,200 

The Militia System may be estimated during 
that time, by allowing on an average per an¬ 
num, 750,000 men; at $2 per annum, 60,000,000 


Total,.$796,341,362 

During the same period the expenses for other purposes were, 

Civil List,.. $37,158,040 

Foreign Intercourse, .... 24,143,582 

Miscellaneous, . . . . . . 32,194,703 


Total 


$93,496,325 




A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


41 


Now, if we subtract from the sum ©f military and naval expenses, 
and the millions paid for debts incurred by war, the estimate made for 
the militia service, we will find that the war expenses of the United 
States’ government were, during the above time, within a fraction of 
being EIGHT TIMES as great as all its other expenses: that out 
of every hundred dollars paid into the national treasury, eighty-seven 
dollars and fifty-four cents were expended for war purposes, while 
only twelve dollars and forty-six cents were needed for the ordinary 
and legitimate expenses of the general government. What a vast 
difference ! Now, if we acid the county and state revenue of our 
country, to the ordinary expenses of the general government, it would 
swell the amount considerably : but still it would'probably increase it 
to only about one-fifth of all the expenses of civil government both for 
the nation and the several states ; especially if the burden of the mili¬ 
tia system is taken into the account. 

Now, it is well known that our war expenses are trifling compared 
with those of other countries. This being the case, what an enor¬ 
mous drawback on the industry of t.he mass of mankind is here pre¬ 
sented ; and which, according to the present order of things, they must 
submit to, v/hether they will or not. 

In the third place, armies and navies are noted nurseries of immo¬ 
rality: of Sabbath-breaking, profanity, irreligion, intemperance, lewd* 
ness and idleness. Go only to a common militia training, and you 
will hear and see more unchristian conduct, than perhaps you will see 
in the common incidents of life through the whole year. But I will 
not enlarge here. 

The second clause of the article under consideration relates to* 
Capital punishment. This is a somewhat intricate subject, and much 
agitated in our days. There are many who earnestly contend that 
capital punishment ought to be abolished, because (say they) it is 
contrary to the 'Christian religion. The following is a brief state¬ 
ment of my views on this subject. 

That mankind are morally depraved does not admit of the least, 
doubt. The wars and bloodshed with which they have overwhelmed 
themselves from time to time, prove this to a demonstration. No man 
could imbue his hands in the blood of his brother man, if this were not 


42 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


the fact. This being the case, it follows as a matter of course, that 
civil government must he based on physical as well as on moral 
force. Moral force consists in a knowledge of the law of justice and 
its requirements. By law we know what we ought to do towards one 
another, and what we ought to avoid doing. We know that we should 
respect the rights of our fellow man, that we should not injure his pro¬ 
perty, his character, or his body, much less take his life. But though 
all men know these things, yet some, on account of their depravity* 
will steal, rob, defraud, slander, maim and murder, notwithstanding 
the force of the moral law. Hence physical force must be brought to 
bear on those who do not regard moral force. The weak must be 
protected against the strong; for there is a difference among mankind 
in respect to capacity and strength. The right to wield this physical 
force lodges naturally with each individual; but as an individual, in 
his individual capacity, is not safely to be entrusted with the exercise 
of this power, on account of partiality in his own favor, he is forbidden 
by the law of God to avenge himself on his adversary, and civil gov¬ 
ernment is instituted for this purpose. Civil government is, according 
to the apostle Paul, an ordinance of God, and magistrates are his min¬ 
isters. u Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For 
there is no power but of God : the powers that be, are ordained of 
God. Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance 
of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation. 
For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. Wilt thou 
then not be afraid of the power? do that which is good, and thou shalt 
have praise of the same: For he is the minister of God to thee for 
• good. But if thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not 
the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute 
wrath upon him that doeth evil.” Rom. 13 : 1—6 inclusive. 

Here magistracy is clearly, taught by the inspired apostle, to be an 
ordinance of God for our own good ; because the duty of government 
is to protect the good, the innocent, the harmless, against the ^mruly, 
the evil-doers. Now, to me it appears plain, that punishment, even 
capital punishment, ought not to be abolished at any time, because 
there will always be evil-doers; persons who will injure their neigh¬ 
bors. The magistrate is represented as bearing the sword not in vain; 


A FLAK' FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


43 


hence he is to use it against evil-doers. And why is he said to bear a 
sword, if it is wrong to inflict death on murderers I Why did not the 
apostle say, that he beareth not the rod or prison-key in vain, if capital 
punishment for murder is unchristian ? Some will say, Christ abolish¬ 
ed punishment by death, when he forbid the law of retaliation—an eye 
for an eye, a tooth for a tooth. I freely grant, that so far as the pro¬ 
hibition goes, we ought to follow to the letter; but it is to be recollected 
that where Christ stopped, we ought to stop likewise. If the law is less 
rigorous under the New Testament dispensation than under the Old, 
we ought not to draw the inference that death for murder was to cease, 
because maiming for maiming was to cease. If a murderer is not to 
die for his crime, it is of no use for the magistrate to carry a sword, to 
terrify evil-doers, unless he carries it to make war on other nations; 
which practice is, according to the ancient prophets, entirely to cease 
in the latter days. Isaiah 2, . and Micah 4. 

It is perhaps objected, that to take the life of a man for murder proves 
that those who are concerned in the matter are prompted by feelings 
of revenge. By no means, if it be done by disinterested persons. If I 
were to execute justice on the murderer of some near relation of mine, 
revenge would doubtless influence me ; hence I am not permitted to do 
so in such cases, but must restrain my feelings, and leave the matter 
in the hands of God and his duly appointed ministers. I must not 
gratify my wrath against an evil-doer, who has injured or intends to 
injure me or my near relations. I dare do nothing but to inform those 
who are in authority. That I am allowed to inform “ the powers that 
be” of an injury done to myself or others, I would infer from the ex¬ 
ample of Paul, recorded in Acts 23, from the 12th verse to the end of 
the chapter. Paul’s life was in danger from a mob of the Jews, who 
had determined to destroy him. tie applied to the proper source for 
the purpose of obtaining that protection which was afforded by physi¬ 
cal force legally employed, and which the chief captain of the Roman 
army made use of for his benefit. And I consider it to be the proper 
business of a police to suppress mobs and secure the personal safety 
of every individual. 

It has been said, that if government has a right to make war on a* 
single murderer, it has a right to make war against a nation, because 


44 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


the principle is the same. Now, to me there appears to be a great dif¬ 
ference between the aggression of a man on his fellow man in taking 
his life maliciously, and the conduct of an invading army. Because 
the murderer destroys, without any cause whatever, his helpless vie- |j 
tim, who cannot defend himself. He may not see his enemy give the 
fatal blow, or may be too weak to arrest it. He drinks or eats poison 
and is ignorant of it, and therefore cannot possibly avoid death. Hence j 
it is necessary to strike terror into evil-doers, by letting them know 
that the punishment for murder (if discovered) will be death. No pity 
was to be shown to a wilful murderer under the law of Moses. See: 
Deut. 19th chapter, especially the 13th and 20th verses. When our 
Saviour enjoined forbearance for bodily injuries, he stopped when he 
came to murder: that part of the law remains in full force under the 
Gospel dispensation. Christ not only left that law r unrepealed, but 
strengthens it by revealing the fact, that the magistrate bears not tlrie 
sword in vain, but is a terror to evil-doers. 

Now, the case of an invading army is greatly different from that 
of an individual murderer. Because no civilized nation ever made 
war on another nation without a real, imaginary, or pretended cause. 
And whatever the cause of national war may be, it is always a subject 
of negotiation between the contending parties, and might be settled so 
that no war would ensue. Hence it is wrong to go to war when the 
difficulty can be adjusted in that rational way. But between a mur¬ 
derer and his victim, no such a way is left open, nor even attempted by 
the murderer: hence again he ought, according to the divine law, to 
be punished with death, that others may be deterred from such crimes, 

- and innocence be protected. It will be readily granted, that many 
wars may be avoided, but not all. For example, would Napoleon 
have settled by negotiation any dispute with Alexander of Russia, as 
he was bent on the conquest of the Russian empire at all hazards? 
No, he would not by any means except one, namely, non-resistance 
from moral principle by Russia. If Alexander and his subjects had all 
been Quakers, or practical Christians, they would have given no cause 
of offence, and the ambitious Buonaparte would not have found any one 
% to fight in Russia, and even for shame’s salve he would not have mo¬ 
lested that country. What glory would ambitious men gain by fight- 


A PLAN FOE ABOLISHING WAR. 


45 


ing a non-resisting people ? And is it not well known, that in most 
of wars ambition has more to do than any thing else 1 

The foregoing observations are a digression from the matter imme¬ 
diately in hand, but not out of place, as they answer an objection often 
brought against peace principles. We repeat it again, that national* 
non-resistance is the best guard against an invading army, especially 
when a nation observes the law of justice, equity and friendship. 
Has there ever been a fortified city or country which has not been con* 
quered by invaders 1 What one man is able to erect, another man is 
able to demolish. When will men become wise and learn from expe¬ 
rience 1 Was not the colony of Pennsylvania under the government 
of William Penn and his Quaker brethren, more effectually protected 
against the surrounding savages, than all the other colonies on the 
North American Continent; and that for upwards of seventy years, 
as long as the Quakers had the ascendancy in the government ? But 
how soon was its peaceable relation exchanged for that of war and all 
its horrors, when the government changed its policy. Love begets 
love in all who have a spark of humanity remaining. Nations and 
communities in their collective capacity, have still a large share of hu¬ 
manity ; while there are exceptions of some few individuals, who nei¬ 
ther love nor endeavor to promote love. Hence, if nations would che¬ 
rish friendship and love toward each other, war would be prevented ; 
and that more especially, if they could be united into one body politic. 
Armies and navies would therefore be useless. As to those few indi- f 
viduals in each community, who have given themselves up to all man¬ 
ner of wickedness, a small police would be sufficient to keep them in 
subjection. And this force through time might undoubtedly be great¬ 
ly reduced, since the cause of temperance will gradually and finally 
prevail; and many are transformed into fiends by intemperance, who 
would be peaceable citizens were it not for the bewitching influence 
of strong drink. 


46 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


ARTICLE IX. 

No restriction shall be laid on lawful Commerce by Ta- 

• riffs, Excises, or other burdens. Nor shall any revenue be 
collected but by direct taxation. 

• Political oppression always ends in heavy taxation. Heavy taxes 

give rise to complaints in all countries, and frequently originates 
civil war. Enormous burdens have overthrown states more than once, 
and it is to be feared that they will do so again, unless there be some 
prospect held out of a remedy that shall by and by release mankind 
from these burdens. Now, the only proper remedy for these evils is 
to remove the causes of them, namely, disunion and the consequent 
war policy of the civilized world. ,, . 

Let us look for a moment at Great Britain, and see what the mass 
of the people there bear in the way of taxation. The national revenue,, 
according to the supplement of “ The Encyclopaedia of Geography,” 
for the years 1838, 1839 and 1840, amounted in round numbers to 
£51,000,000 sterling, or $226,000,000. The population amounts to 
twenty-seven millions: hence each individual is taxed eight dollars and 
thirty-seven cents. What an enormous burden ! Now, this burden 
is‘incurred for war purposes chiefly. There may be, and undoubtedy 

• are, other bills of expense that are unreasonable and extravagant; but 
the chief cause of the enormous taxes of that nation is the war policy. 
The greatest part of this money is needed to pay the interest on the 
national debt contracted by wars in former times; a large portion is 
applied to pay her present army and navy establishments, and but a 
small part is needed to keep the government in motion, though the sa¬ 
laries of officers are very high. Now, it cannot be supposed that the 
people of Great Britain would ever have consented to such an order 
of things in finances, if the taxes had been levied on them annually by 
a direct tax. They would have seen the unreasonableness of the mea¬ 
sure and rejected it at once. The same holds good with respect to 
other nations ; though other nations may not be burdened quite so 

« much as the British, yet their taxes are immense. The mode of col- 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


47 


lecting revenue by an indirect method, and more especially by loans, 
is exceedingly deceptive. Loans afford present relief, and roll the bur¬ 
dens of government on posterity, which is unjust in the highest degree. 
The time may come, when nations will ask the question, Are we in 
duty bound to pay the debts contracted by our ancestors, in endeavor¬ 
ing to destroy by wholesale a neighboring people unnecessarily and 
against the law of God; or ought we to repudiate such claims 1 And 
the answer will be, It is as wrong to pay claims of this kind, as it 
would be for me to pay an assassin, who had been hired before I was i 
born, by my father or grandfather, to murder his neighbor and burn 
and otherwise destroy his property. But enough of this. 

If peace and union were established, little revenue would be needed. • 
And what little would be needed ought to be collected by direct taxa¬ 
tion ; so that people might know what their servants (or masters) were 
doing' Perhaps the best plan would be, to allow local or town magis¬ 
trates to lay the amount of taxes: 1. For the purpose of paying the 
expense of their government—2. For the purpose of keeping up high¬ 
ways, &c.—3. For the maintenance of the poor—4. For the purpose 
of common education, according to such law T s. and regulations as the 
state council might direct. For state purposes very little would suffice, 
if public improvements were placed in the hands of competing corpo¬ 
rations. The salaries of state officers would be nearly all that would 
be needed, and here a check might be imposed, by enacting that if 
state officers wished to raise their salaries, they should state their 
reasons; and after having made this statement public, the people should 
decide by vote, whether the desired salary should be allowed or not. 
In this way the people might guard against oppression from their rulers. 
The same restriction might be adopted in regard to local officers. 

A few words on the difficulty of laying taxes with impartiality. It* 
is admitted on all hands, that this difficulty is great, because of the 
different estimates that are made on property of the same real value. 
One man’s property, worth one thousand dollars in market, is perhaps 
valued at but five hundred; while another man’s, worth the same, is 
set down at fifteen hundred. Hence one pays three times as much as 
the other, though they should each pay alike. This difficulty could 
be avoided, if real property was rated at the price for which it was last 


48 


A PLAN FOR AEOLISHING WAR. 


sold. If a man buys a property at five hundred dollars, let that be the 
rate of value in taxation. If he sells a part of his land, say ten acres 
of his hundred, let the remainder of his land be valued at the same rate 
for which he sold part; and rate the taxation according to this rule. 
It may be objected, that property might increase or decrease in nomi¬ 
nal value during the time that, it is owned by the same person ; and 
hence the difficulty would still remain. Besides, it might be greatly 
improved, and thus its real value increased ; and here again would be 

• a difficulty that could not be obviated. Granted: but all difficulties 
cannot be removed from taxation. Nevertheless, if such a regulation 
was adopted, it would put an end to complaint, because the amount of 

• taxes levied would not depend on the favor or prejudice of tax-layers, 
but on other circumstances entirely beyond their control. And a few 
years would bring property again to its just standard, as property ex¬ 
changes owners very frequently. The fluctuations in the nominal 
value of property can be clearly traced to the rise and fall in trade 
caused by the commercial restraints, which nations impose on each 
other, and thus undermine the * general prosperity of the whole world. 
All these things would cease, if a general union could be effected, and 
a oneness of interest established among the different communities of 
the world. 

ARTICLE X.. 

All Real Estate, whenever in the natural course of human 
events it is to pass into other hands, shall be sold at public 
vendue to the highest bidder. But only such as are not pos¬ 
sessed of Real Estate shall have a right to purchase. 

From what we read in the prophet Micah, it would appear that all 
men were designed to be proprietors of the soil: “ But they shall sit 
every man under his vine and under his fig-tree; and none shall make 
them afraid: for the mouth of the Lord of hosts hath spoken it.” 
Micah 4:4. The same may be clearly inferred from the language of 
Isaiah: “ And they shall build houses and inhabit them; and they 
shall plant vineyards and eat” (not drink) “ the fruit of them. They 





A FLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


49 


another inhabit; they shall not plant and another eat.” Isaiah 65 : 

21 , 22 . 

When God had created man, He made him sole lord of the world in 
which he was placed. All things on which he could lay his hands 
were made subject to his authority. The deed of conveyance from 
the Creator to the creature was drawn up in the following words: 
“Be fruitful, and multiply, and replenish the earth, and subdue it; and 
have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, 
and over every living thing that moveth upon the earth.” Gen. 1 : 27. 
This is the charter by which man holds property in all things to which 
he has access, his fellow-man only excepted. Now, as this grant was 
made to Adam the father of the human family, the grant extends to 
all his posterity. This is self-evident and needs not to be argued. 
As this position is correct, it follows as a natural consequence, that all 
men have an equal right to the common property of all, and yet this 
equal enjoyment would create great embarrassment, if it was reduced 
to practice; yea, to an absolute infringement on the rights of some, 
because some really deserve more on account of their industry than 
others. The reason of this difficulty is found in our fallen and de¬ 
praved condition. What we now enjoy is the product of labor of oar 
own or that of others. 

Since man fell into sin, he is doomed to toil and labor; his exist¬ 
ence is only continued by laborious exertions; without labor he could 
not exist at all. This would not have been the case, if man had not 
transgressed. The spontaneous productions of the earth would have 
pleutifully supplied all his physical wants. But God, for wise purpo¬ 
ses, has changed the place of man’s abode, and imposed on him the 
task of raising from the soil, the waters and the minerals of the earth, 
the means of his comfort and subsistence; and hence the toil and la¬ 
bor of mankind. Now man is naturally averse to industry, and yet 
without the fruits of it he is undone, he cannot live. He must now la¬ 
bor for his living, or starve; or he must find means to get the produce 
of the toil of others to live upon ; and this is absolute injustice—it is 
robbery. This last plan has been resorted to, to an awful extent, by 
many of the sons of Adam, and that under the sanction of human 
laws. 


50 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


The soil is the main-spring of wealth. From it, by means of agri-| 
culture, we chiefly derive food and clothing. Now as labor is neces-j 
sary to draw these forth, and as each is bound in justice to support! 
himself, and himself only, and as this can only be done from the soil 1 
as the main-spring of wealth, the law of nature points out the absolute ■ 
necessity of making this main-spring or fountain accessible to all tire * 
sons of Adam, in order that all may fill their vessels with the bounties J 
of nature and the fruits of their own industry. To secure this advan-1 
tage to all, it would appear that the soil should be distributed in equal f 
portions to all. But on a more close inquiry it is clearly made out, I 
that such an equal division is absolutely impracticable. Because of 
the mortality of man in the first place. By the course of nature num-1 
bers die annually; at the same time, more are bora annually into the] 
world than die. Hence this circumstance alone, if there were no others, ; 
makes an equal division of the soil among all impracticable. Secondly, | 
Those who , are born into the world, even if they should arrive at man-I 
hood, are helpless for a long time and cannot use the soil for their own 
maintenance, but must be supported by their parents or others : hence t 
to them such a division would be useless. The same observation holds j 
good with regard to cripples, idiots, and other persons, who are unable 
to cultivate the soil. Thirdly, There are many occupations necessary \ 
in common life beside agriculture, and there are many who prefer these 1 
useful callings to the cultivation of the soil, and these need but a small ■ 
portion of it for their purposes: hence, again, in this case, an equal 
division of the soil would be useless. 

From what has just been said, it is evident that the soil should not 
be divided equally among all individuals of the human family. But j 
should matters remain as they are at present ? By no means. The 
shares w'hich proprietors hold in the soil are too unequal to be just. 
Millions of families possess not a foot of land, but are the mere tenants 
of landholders, and are by them, in millions of cases, oppressed and 
wronged. In our very imperfect state of agriculture, from twenty to 
thirty acres of land are sufficient to maintain an ordinary'Tamily de- . 
cently, and yet, thousands of persons possess from ten to one. hundred 
times as much, to the manifest injury of the community at large. 

In order to remove all these difficulties, it is necessary to provide a 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


■51 


legal barrier to the unlimited right of holding real estate. But this must 
be done without infringing on the just rights of any. To take from * 
the rich and to give that taken from them to the poor, would be wrong 
in my apprehension. The rich became so by the operation of the laws 
of property as they have been framed; and nobody ever thought 
he committed wrong on the community in thus acquiring property. 
What they have is theirs, and no attempt should be made to wrest it 
from them. But a legal barrier should be made binding upon all, that 
if they possess real estate already, they shall not be permitted to buy 
any more of that which is for sale, but it shall be for those who are 
commencing the world and possess none. If I have a home of my 
own, why should not my neighbor, who has none, have an opportunity 
of obtaining what he absolutely needs 1 Certainly justice says that he 
is entitled to a share of the soil as well as myself. The landholder who 
outbids the nonholder of land, inflicts an injury on the poor. But this 
cannot be prevented until the law shall positi vely prohibit the rich from 
monopolizing the soil. If such a law is not enacted, the poor can never 
rise to a comfortable competency, and they must remain in poverty 
and distress. This has been the case in all civilized countries, ancient 
and modern. The rich have ever succeeded in enlarging their posses¬ 
sions, and in reducing the majority of the community to servitude and 
slavery. w 

This state of things was provided for in the Jewish constitution giver* 
from God himself by the hand of Moses to the Israelites. The land 
was, in the first place, to be apportioned to them in equal shares ac¬ 
cording to the number of families in each tribe, and the number of 
members of a family in the several tribes. See Numbers 26:52—56. 
But as an equal distribution of the soil is, by the nature of things, (as 
has been shown above,) not entirely practicable, but landed property 
must now and then change owners, it was provided in the same con¬ 
stitution, that the soil could not be sold for ever, but reverted to the* - 
original owner or his heirs. See Levit. chap. 25. If any one had from • 
some cause or other grown poor, and was obliged to sell his patrimo¬ 
ny, he had a right to redeem either part or the whole of it at any time, 
and enter on the repossession of it; or if any of his friends redeemed 
it for him, he could do the same. But if neither he nor his friends re- 


52 


A PLA2T FOE AEOilSHING WAE. 


deemed it, it remained with the person who bought it until the year of 
jubilee, which happened every forty-ninth year, and in that year it 
went out free, and was again taken possession of by the original own¬ 
er. Thus we see that God in his infinite wisdom provided a remedy 
against poverty, and against the monopolizing spirit of depraved hu¬ 
man nature. 

Notwithstanding the Jewish constitution provided for the equalization 
erf the condition of the mass of the nation, many appear, nevertheless* 
to have violated this wholesome provision ; for it is said, Isaiah 5:8, 
“ Wo unto them, that join house to house, that lay field to field, till 
there be no place, that they may be placed alone in the midst of the 
earth !” And the prophet Micah,chap. 2 : 1—3, pronounces a wo on 
the nation. “ Wo to them that devise iniquity, and work evil upon their 
beds! when the morning is light, they practise it, because it is in the 
power of their hand. And they covet fields, and take them by vio^' 
lence ; and houses, and take them away: so they oppress a man and 
his house, even a man and his heritage. Therefore, thus saith the 
Lord ; Behold, against this family do I devise an evil, from which ye 
shall not remove your necks; neither shall ye go haughtily: for this 
time is evil.” Though the law provided for the restoration of the soil 
to the original owner at the year of jubilee; yet persons of an avari¬ 
cious disposition would undoubtedly strain every nerve, to take advan- 
#£age of honest, unsuspecting people, by induciug them to part with their 
lands till the year of jubilee; and after having thus reduced them to a 
dependent condition, to reduce them to servitude and bondage. Hence 
those threatentngs of the God of the oppressed against their oppressors. 

If the avaricious among the Jews were thus guilty of such monopo¬ 
lization of the soil, for but a limited time, what may we not expect 
among us, when there is not the least restraint on the baneful passion 
of avarice ? Alas ! alas ! the condition of mankind at large does but 
<too abundantly testify. Go to Great Britain, for instance, and see. 

• That nation boasts of being the first among the nations of the earth m 
civilization and intelligence, and yet by far the greater portion of the 
people are in a state of abject poverty. The soil is entailed on the fa¬ 
milies of,the rich, and it is out of the power of the poor ever to acquire 
a foot of land. The rich grind down the poor with high and exorbitant 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


53 


rents, and thus the peasantry or common people suffer all the ills which 
human nature can endure short of absolute slavery. The free impor¬ 
tation of grain is greatly restrained by a high tariff, in order to keep the 
staff of life at an exorbitant price, so that landholders may be enabled 
to press as high a rent out of their tenants as possible; and hence, 
tradesmen and poor laborers must buy the necessaries of life at a very 
high price, and have thus their lives embittered and rendered miserable. 
But it is not only so in Great Britain: the condition of the poor is 
nearly the same in all other Christian countries. In Russia the pea¬ 
sants or farmers are absolutely the slaves of the owners of the soil, 
and are sold with it whenever such a sale by one rich man to another 
takes place. 

We Americans are generally led to think, that the poor in this coun¬ 
try are for ever safe from the depression which is the lot of the poor of 
Europe. But here we are in a mistake. Our freedom from the depres¬ 
sion which exists in other countries is entirely owing to the thin popu¬ 
lation in our land. Were our country as densely settled as many coun¬ 
tries in Europe, our conditi6n would just be the same as theirs. For, 
as our population increases, we find the difficulties of life thicken 
around us. Rents are getting higher, wages lower, and employment 
more scarce ; because laborers increase, and machinery increases like¬ 
wise, and performs the labor that used to be done by the hands of man. 
What would be the condition of the poor, if our country did not contain 
vast tracts of unoccupied land to afford them an outlet ? Our vacant 
territories will soon be filled up, and all outlet of this kind ended. 
What then will the poor man do for himself and his posterity 1 Alas ! 
he will then be forced to submit to the same hard fate to which the poor 
in Europe are subject. You will perhaps say, this is a free country, 
and he can at the polls vote for such rulers as shall provide for his wel¬ 
fare. But this will not alter his condition one jot. Will laws be passed 
that the rich shall maintain the poor ? No, not at all; no more than 
we have already for that purpose. The poor are kept from starving 
now; they are now sold out like beasts to the lowest bidder for keeping. 
But you may suffer innumerable evils long before it comes to that 
point. 

There is therefore no other.remedy for these evils but a constitution- 


54 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


al barrier to the monopolizing propensity of depraved nature; namely, 
that all real estate which shall be offered for sale, shall be sold publicly 
to the highest bidder; but no one shall be allowed to purchase but those 
who possess no real estate at the time of sale. Some will perhaps ob¬ 
ject, that this would be a hard law, as no man could make provision 
for his children. Not at all, as under such a regulation no such pro¬ 
vision is necessary. But suppose that you buy a plantation for each 
of your sons, how shall the poor man provide for himself and his sons? 
You answer, that you don’t know; that you suppose he must do as 
well as he can; that if you had more land than you needed, you 
would rent him one of your farms; and thus you both would get along. 
That you would get along is true enough. The poor of England are 
getting along, but how?—that is the grand question. You rent him a 
farm at as high a rate as you can press out of him, in order to raise 
money to buy the next farm. And when you have that, you proceed 
in the same way with it in oppressing another poor renter; and so on*- 
until you would be owner of a whole country. 

This is the disposition of the unregenerated heart of poor, depraved, 
fallen man. Yea, even those who are the subjects of regenerating 
grace, are often carried away by the current of the custom of the 
times, without ever thinking that any thing is wrong in society. Some 
object and say that the rich give employment to the poor, and thus 
both are benefitted. This was lately illustrated in a conversation with 
a friend in the following manner. A certain rich neighbor had occa¬ 
sion to hire from time to time a number of men; and some of those 
men earned, in the course of six or eight years, money sufficient to ena¬ 
ble them to buy land. One tended his mill; another, his distillery; a 
third worked on his immense farm; others were employed at his salt¬ 
works; and all these different employments afforded these poor men 
the means of acquiring money. But here I would answer all these 
objections by asking a few simple questions. Why did the miller tend 
the mill of the rich man as an underling ? Because the rich man was 
not restrained by law from buying that mill in addition to his large 
farm. If he had been restrained as he ought to have been, then his 
miller might have bought that mill himself; and instead of being an 
underling he would have been the proprietor of it. Why did an- 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


55 


other man carry on the distillery for this rich man as a dependent and 
not as proprietor ? [I do not approve of the ■employment, but merely 
use the case as an illustration.] Because the rich man was able to 
monopolize that branch of business likewise. Why were others his 
mere tools at his salt-works; toiling for years for him, in order to live 
and gather a little money for the purpose of establishing themselves? 
Why did not one of them, or they all jointly own and enjoy the fruits 
of those salt-works, and that of their own labor, from their first setting 
out in life ? Because that rich man who had a large farm, large enough 
for ten ordinary families, was not restrained by law from adding to his 
immense farm, a mill, distillery and salt-works. The rich man was 
able to make the most of money; and hence, not being restrained, out¬ 
bid his poorer neighbor, when any real estate tjiat suited him was in 
the market: they could not compete with him, and were thus doomed 
to be his servants. This is the course of the world every where. 

It will still be objected that these tenants gathered means, in the 
course of several years, which enabled them to purchase real estate, 
and that this was the case- with all those who were industrious and 
saving. This is true. But how long have poor men generally to toil 
before they are able to gain a competency ? From ten to thirty years; 
and then their own children are, in most instances, doomed to the same 
bard lot. Besides, the favorable situation in which the poor of this 
country are placed is only circumstantial. It is only on account of 
the immense tracts of territory not yet occupied, and where land is 
very cheap, that the poor of this country are not ground into the dust. 

If we had not an outlet in the Far West, the doom of the poor would 
be sealed as it is in the old world. In Europe not one out of every 
five hundred that are bora poor ever rises to respectability and com¬ 
fortable circumstances, no matter how industrious and saving he is. 

If the parent is poor, so will be his offspring; and nothing can ever 
raise these miserable beings to a state of independence, but a law re¬ 
straining the avarice of depraved mankind. 

One more objection I will endeavor to answer. It is said that if • 
nonholders of real estate were only permitted to buy the property 
which, from time to time, would be brought into market, real es¬ 
tate would greatly depreciate in value, as it could only be bought by 


56 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


the poor, who had but little money. To this I answer, that real estate 
would depreciate some in its nominal but none in its real value: Be¬ 
cause a farm is just as valuable for the purposes of life, when it is 
bought with five hundred dollars, as when it will bring from five to 
fifty thousand. The produce of it, by the ^ame labor in both cases, 
would be equal: hence, just as many persons would be nourished by 
it, if it rated at five hundred dollars, as if it rated at fifty thousand dob 
l&rs; and it is bread that keeps men alive and not money. 


I might here close this essay; but before doing so, I wish to drop a 
hint or two on an apparently very strong objection to the doctrines of 
peace. Defensive war is justified on the plea that war itself, though a 
great evil, is notwithstanding right and necessary, if the case be that one 
nation be invaded by another nation. The plea is founded on the circum¬ 
stance of the Israelites being commanded to make war on the Canaan^-' 
ites and other nations that were at enmity with them. It is said, God 
never did command a thing that is morally wrong, and since he com¬ 
manded the Jews to make war on the above nations, it is not morally 
wrong to go to war. This objection has considerable weight. In or¬ 
der to find out the real truth in the case, it is necessary to inquire into 
the causes of those wars. The Canaanites were extremely wicked and 
had filled up the measure of their iniquity; so that they had by their 
crimes forfeited their lives and every thing else. God saw proper to 
destroy them by the hands of the Israelites, and the Israelites were 
merely the executioners of the sentence passed upon them. God, as 
the sovereign of the universe, has a right to inflict w r hat punishment he 
sees fit, and to select whatever instrument he chooses for the infliction. 
In the case of these rebellious nations, He saw fit to destroy them by 
the hands of the Jews, as He on other occasions saw fit to use other in¬ 
strumentalities. The old world was destroyed by the waters of the 
deluge ; the Sodomites were destroyed by fire ; Pharaoh and his host 
® were drowned in the Red Sea ; the earth opened and swallowed up 
some of the rebellious Israelites in the wilderness; others were destroy¬ 
ed by fiery serpents; while multitudes were swept off by the plague.- 
Hence God, when -he is insulted and provoked by rebellious men, makes 



A PLAN FOE ABOLISHING WAK. 


57 


use of various means to punish the impenitent and incorrigible. In the 
case of the Canaanites destruction by war was the punishment, and 
the Jews were the executioners of God’s justice. Now, when God 
expressly commands any nation to make war on another nation, then 
let the nation thus commanded wage war, and they will be successful 
without the loss of a single man. Then it will be their duty to go to 
war, and to refrain from war would be disobedience and rebellion 
against the God of heaven. It is very remarkable that the Israelites, 
in those wars in which they were engaged with foreign nations after 
their settlement in the land of Canaan, were to wage war only when 
the Lord sent them. Of this mention is made by Solomon in his dedi¬ 
catory prayer. “ If thy people go out to battle against their enemy, 
whithersoever thou shalt send them.” 1 Kings 8 : 44. From this it is 
plain that the Israelites were only to go to war when they were sent 
by God himself, and not by their own will. The general law given 
to the Jews for their regulation in foreign wars required them to cut 
qff all the males of the cities which they took, unless those cities ac¬ 
cepted offers of peace. Deut. 20. Now, if the rightfulness of war can 
be justified from the fact, that the Jews were on some occasions to 
make war on other nations by a special command or permit, then it 
follows that we can only do so, when we are specially commanded or 
permitted by God, and when not thus commanded we must desist, be¬ 
cause war implies the right of taking away human life. If we plead 
in justification the example of the Jews, we must follow them fully, by 
putting to the sword every male of our enemies. Again : If we act 
agreeably to God’s will in this matter, success will attend our efforts 
without the loss of a single man. But this has not been the case in 
any war that has been carried on since the days of the ancient Israel¬ 
ites'. It will be said that the Israelites were frequently defeated by 
their enemies. True, they were, but it was only when they had in¬ 
curred the displeasure of the Lord by disobedience. 

War is a punishment for the sins of nations; but God only has the 
right, as Lord of lords and King of nations, to determine what kind 
of punishment is due. If he designs to punish a nation by war, He 
will either give an express command to the nation which He shall 
choose as his instrument; or He will overrule their avarice, ambition 


53 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


or revenge to execute his will: in the former case, they will be obey¬ 
ing the command of God; in the latter, they will be highly criminal; 
since the act of one nation in making war on another, without a war¬ 
rant from God, usurps His prerogative. When God in his providence 
permits one wicked nation to make war on another, it is to punish both 
for their sins. And I view all wars that have ever occurred in the 
world, which were not expressly commanded by God, in this light and 
in no other. Is it possible that God would approve of the cause of 
one side and disapprove of the other, in a fatal conflict between nations; 
and yet suffer the objects of his approbation to be slaughtered by tens 
or hundreds of thousands! Impossible! it cannot be! As has been 
intimated already, the Jews never suffered in their wars w 7 ith the hea¬ 
then around them, except when they had incurred the displeasure of 
God by their sin and disobedience. One Christian nation to go to 
war with another, how absurd! how brutish ! how diabolical!—Two 
or more Christian nations to shed each others blood; burn and destroy > 
each others cities and dwellings; turn the sanctuaries, or places of 
divine worship, into horse stables, how disgusting and fiendish!—To 
cause seas of blood and rivers of tears to flow, and yet say that war is 
not morally wrong, what moral darkness ! Yet so it is. Learned 
Doctors' of Divinity tell us that these things can be reconciled with 
sound Christianity. These men, who have spent years in divinity 
schools, and paid hundreds of money for their theological knowledge, 
now receive hundreds and in some instances thousands per an¬ 
num, for teaching their nonsense and abominable heresies to a deluded 
k people; while only a few despised Quakers and Mennonists (who 
preach the Gospel without charge) testify against these abominations. 

If Great Britain and the United States should engage in a war with 
each other, we would hear both nations, by the mouths of their reli¬ 
gious ministers, pray with great fervour, for the success of the arms 
of their respective nations. Now, can God grant the petitions of both 
parties ! No : He would grant neither ; but would suffer them to 
bring distress and ruin on each other as a punishment for their sins. 
And so it will be with all nations that go to war with one another. 
All these things are wrong; and a new order of things should and 
must be established in the world, if ever Christianity is tc prevail in 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


59 


its spirit and power, and if ever the condition of mankind is to be 
ameliorated. 

How shall this grand object be obtained, or this great end accom* 
plished 1 Answer. By moral suasion in the first place, and by politi¬ 
cal action in the second. These principles must be laid before all 
ranks of society through the medium of public lectures and of the 
press. Both these means are powerful and efficacious. The general 
mind needs light on the subject of this essay. That there is some¬ 
thing radically wrong in the affairs of civil society, is apparent to all 
intelligent observers. The remedy is to be laid before them for their 
consideration. Political action is also necessary, in order to obtain a 
remedy for all those civil and political evils under which society now 
groans. We must lay our principles before the powers that be, in or¬ 
der that they may make arrangements for carrying out such measures 
as will secure a permanent peace in the world based on the equal rights 
of all. In order to do this, it will be expedient to organize peace and 
political reform societies in all civilized countries throughout the world, 
after the manner of our anti-slavery societies. It will be farther ne¬ 
cessary that these societies have one common centre; so that they 
may be enabled by corresponding and frequent meetings, to aim at 
one point. Here philanthropists have the advantage of considerable 
experience gained in the anti-slavery enterprize. 

There will, doubtless, be great and inveterate opposition to all the 
measures proposed for the abolition of war, from various classes of 
persons. There are kings and nobles, who undoubtedly will resist as 
long as they possibly can, but we must deal plainly with them at all 
hazards, though there be power on their side. Yet as they have no 
natural right to rule over mankind, their resistance must and will yield 
to the force of TRUTH. 

The rich, or many of them, will also undoubtedly resist as long as 
possible, since the plan recommended with respect to real property 
seems to go against them. But we must tell them, that we do not 
wish to rob them of their property; it is to be theirs and only theirs. 
But as they have already what they need, we want only a constitu¬ 
tional provision that will secure to nonholders of real estate, the ex¬ 
clusive right to purchase that which shall be, from time to time, in the 


60 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


market; so that they may also have an opportunity to acquire the com¬ 
forts of life. 

$ In free governments, demagogues and aspirants to office will oppose, 
with all their might and cunning, the introduction in governmeut of 
such an order of things as is above proposed; since it would cut off 
from them all opportunity of misleading the “ dear people” for the 
purpose of securing to themselves posts of profit, honor and power. 
They will clearly see, that if both the ballot-box and the lot be resort¬ 
ed to, for obtaining officers and magistrates, their chance would in all 
probability be small, for getting at the public crib. Hence, we may 
depend on it, that the opposition from this quarter will be strong and 
determinedyea, so much so, as to bring down persecution and death 
on some of the pioneers of this great cause. But there is some conso¬ 
lation from a knowledge of the fact, that the spirit of mobocracy and 
violence is in a great measure broken down, by the temperance and 
anti-slavery reformations of the present age. And besides, no just 
cause if persevered in, will fail in the end: and doubtless the cause of 
peace will triumph at last. 

There is still another, and perhaps a very large class, who will op¬ 
pose this political peace reformation ; namely, those who are ignorant, 
and not well versed in public affairs, or the present state of the world. 
Light only is needed by the great mass of mankind, to enable them to 
see things as they really are. Hence, lecturers must be employed ; 
the public press as far as possible brought into requisition, for the pur¬ 
pose of spreading suitable documents before the people; the channels 
of social intercourse should be made use of through which to bear upon 
the public mind; and every other lawful means employed to agitate, 
and so create a general interest in this great question. Above all, 
perseverance with a firm reliance on the aid of divine Providence, is 
necessary. These things attended to, will certainly insure a victory 
over all the corruptions and prejudices of a sin-stricken world. 

It may be said, that if all the different nations of the world could 
come to some agreement that would unite them, it would be very 
good; but if the contemplated union ever takes place, it should be con¬ 
curred in by all at the same time: for if the people of one nation should 
adopt peace principles while other nations still adhere to the old prac- 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WaR. 


61 


tice of making war on their neighbors, they would expose themselves 
to the danger of being invaded and reduced to political slavery. There 
is no danger in this respect. The danger of losing our national free¬ 
dom and independence, on account of peace principles, is all a delusion. 
Have not all nations heretofore acted on the principle of making pre¬ 
parations for war in time of peace? And has any one nation ever 
been able, by these means, to avoid the calamities of war? None 
that has existed for any considerable length of time. On the contra¬ 
ry, by these very means, nations have brought on themselves the evil 
they intended to ward off. For example; If England should equip a 
navy for the purpose of being prepared against an attack from France, 
while the two nations were negotiating to settle a dispute, would not 
France equip a fleet to overawe England? And would not both na- , 
tions, by this course, become more embittered toward each other; 
and in consequence, assume a haughty demeanor, hurl defiance at one 
another, until at last, as is usual after such preliminaries, a bloody war 
would ensue ? This is the course that nations have been madly pur¬ 
suing to avoid war; and this is the very course that brings it on. 
Have not all nations on record been invaded again and again, maugre 
all their preparations for war in time of peace ? I know of but one 
community, (which may be considered as a nation, since it possessed * 
the unity and other essential elements of national character,) namely, 
the Colony of Pennsylvania in its early ages, that did not make war¬ 
like preparations in time of peace. It depended, under God, on hu¬ 
manity, justice and benevolence, flowing from the religion of the Di¬ 
vine Redeemer, for defence against invasion from the savage Indians; 
and the experiment perfectly succeeded. William Penn and his < 
brethren taught the world a lesson that is of more value than all the 
thousands of volumes written by sages, philosophers, and politicians 
of past ages. From their experiment we may fairly draw the conclu¬ 
sion, that any nation may safely abandon the war policy and adopt 
the principles of peace. If one nation should disband its army and 
dismantle its navy, and give public notice to the nations of the fact, it 
would have a powerful effect on the’ nations of the world, to induce 
them to do likewise. If, at the same time, the nation supposed should 
open her ports to all nations to trade freely in all the articles of com- 


62 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISHING WAR. 


merce not hurtful to society, it would enkindle the very enthusiasm of 
friendship and goodwill towards her throughout the world. But now 
the case is different. The different nations hold out a kind of doubtfu 1 
friendship with one hand, while the other holds the weapons of war. 
It will not be necessary for one nation to wait until all the other na¬ 
tions concur in the adoption of peace principles; for if each nation 
waits until all the others agree on a permanent peace, no such peace 
will ever be established in the world. Let one nation set the example 
and others will follow. If the United States should adopt the princi¬ 
ples of peace, and dispense with her army, navy and militia system, it 
would be a saving to this nation of from twenty to thirty millions of 
dollars annually. Would not this be a great benefit in a pecuniary 
point of view ? Certainly ; and all the nations of the world would see 
it, and endeavor to secure the same advantage to themselves by a like 
course of policy. It would not only secure to the nation a great saving 
in a pecuniary point of view, but it would secure it against foreign in¬ 
vasions ; for where is the military chieftain that would lead an army 
against a people who made no resistance with physical weapons, and 
acted on the principles of justice and . equity. Such a one could not be 
found ; ambition would shrink from such employment. Thus, we see, 
that non-resistance would completely secure that safety to a nation, 
which has been erroneously sought for by building fortifications, and 
manufacturing instruments of destruction and death. 

But a peaceable nation might not only look for protection as the ne¬ 
cessary result of its policy; itmight confidently expect the blessing of a 
kind Providence. God never will suffer a nation, which places.its trust 
in Him, to fall. We see His care over the feeble kingdom of 'Judah in 
the days of Hezekiah. Twice was Jerusalem in danger of being taken 
by Sennacherib, and both times was he defeated in his design. First, 
by a message that one of his provinces had revolted from him; and 
secondly, by the angel of the Lord destroying, in one night, one hun¬ 
dred and eighty-five thousand men of t.he Assyrian army. See 2 Kings, 
18th and 19th chapters. We read in Psalm 33 : 16, 17, 18, “ There 
is no king saved by the multitude of a host: a mighty man is not de¬ 
livered by much strength. A horse is a vain thing for safety : neither 
shall he deliver any by his great strength. Behold, the eye of the 


A PLAN FOE ABOLISHING WAK. 


63 


Lord is upon them that fear him, upon them that hope in his mercy.” 
Again, Psalm 127:4, “ Except the Lord keep the city, the watchmen 
watch in vain.” These declarations are not mere “ rhetorical flour¬ 
ishes,” but the promises of God in his word, to any just nation. God 
will graciously regard and protect those.nations that serve Him; but 
the disobedient and ungodly will assuredly feel his hot displeasure. 

It is therefore of the utmost importance, that the lovers of peace and 
order should endeavor to bring about an entire change in the political 
world as soon as possible. Much may be done in our own country 
to enlighten the whole world on this great question. We enjoy free¬ 
dom of discussion, and if any thing is brought before the community 
of a general nature, our voices will soon reach the despots of the old 
world. In the infancy of the anti-slavery movement, it would have 
been death to a public lecturer against slavery to have gone to the 
South ; yet the slave states have obtained a full knowledge of anti- 
slavery sentiments. So in the case of the Peace Reform : kings, no¬ 
bles, and their servile tools may, if they see proper, oppose its discus¬ 
sion, yet the agitation of the subject will be kept up until every vestige 
of despotism*and tyranny shall be swept by the power of truth, (and 
not by the power of the carnal sword as some suppose,) from the whole 
earth. God, in his providence, will certainly accomplish this, by the 
power of the Gospel proclaimed through the instrumentality of his ser¬ 
vants: He has pledged his word for its performance. “ But in 
the last days it shall come to pass, that the mountain of the house 
of the Lord shall be established in the top of the mountains, and it shall 
be exalted above the hills; and people shall flow unto it. And many 
nations shall come, and say, Come, and let us go up to the mountain * 
of the Lord, and to the house of the God of Jacob ; and he will teach 
us of his ways, and we will walk in his paths : for the law shall go 
forth of Zion, and the word of the Lord from Jerusalem. And he shall 
judge among many people, and rebuke strong nations afar off ; and 
they shall heat their SWORDS into ploughshares , and their 
SPEARS into pruning-hooks; nation shall not lift up a sword 
against nation, neither shall they learn WAR ANY MORE. But 
every man shall sit under his vine and under his fig-tree: for the 
mouth of the LORD OF HOSTS hath spoken it.” Micah 4 : 1—4. 


64 


A PLAN FOR ABOLISIIIWO WAR. 


The same language is made use of by the prophet Isaiah 2 : 2 —4. 
Many more passages might be adduced in proof of this position if it 
were necessary. The firm believer in the doctrines of the Bible looks 
and prays for a period of universal peace and harmony; and therefore 
it behooves him to labor in every lawful way as well as pray for the 
fulfillment of the glorious prophecies cited above. In view of these 
cheering promises of a faithful God, let us hope, pray and labor, even 
in the face of scorn and persecution, if that should happen to be our 
lot. The Son of God reigns. He is gone forth conquering and to 
conquer; and certain victory will be on His side. Yea, 

* His large and great dominion shall 
From sea to sea extend: 

It from the river shall reach forth 
Unto earth’s utmost end. 

Now blessed be the Lord our God, 

The God of Israel, 

For he alone doth wondrous works. 

In glory that excel. 

And blessed be his glorious name 
To all eternity: 

The whole earth let his glory fill. 

Amen, so let it be.” 


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